The later director of the Vienna Natural History Museum was interested in his later scientific field of research, mineralogy and geology, already in his youth. Michel was involved in standardization issues concerning building materials and conducted research on Austrian ore deposits. Among other things, he founded the state-authorized Technical Examination Institute for Gemstones and was a court-certified expert at the Commercial Court of Vienna.
In addition, Michel was the author of the standard works of the time, “Die künstlichen Edelsteine” and “Nachahmungen und Verfälschungen von Edelsteinen”. In addition, his work “Leitfaden der Untersuchungsmethoden für Edelsteine und Perlen” was also translated into English.
In 1933 Hermann Michel was appointed director of the Natural History Museum, but was removed from this post in 1938. In 1947 he was again entrusted with the management of the Vienna Natural History Museum, a position he held until 1951. From 1951 he was Director General of the Natural History Collections in Vienna.