Pick a metal, a cut, a finish

Metal decides how the piece looks under the grey Berlin sky, how heavy it feels and how it ages. Silver is bright and cold, gold is warm, dental chrome sits in between and takes knocks best.

If you are torn between silver and gold, start with one silver cap. Plenty of people from Neukölln to Charlottenburg wear their first silver piece for a year before upgrading — and we can often reuse the same impression.

A full cap covers the visible tooth completely. An open face cuts the front away so your own tooth shows inside a metal frame. A deep cut adds sharp, faceted lines that throw light in a club. Windows, bars, fangs and initials are all possible on top.

• Single cap — one tooth, often a canine or a front incisor.
• Two-piece — the top two fronts, the classic first set.
• Six or eight across — a full visible row on top or bottom.
• Top and bottom — up to twenty teeth, priced per tooth.

Stones are set by hand into the cast metal and have to be planned before casting. Moissanite gives the most sparkle for the money; lab diamond is real diamond grown in a lab; natural diamond is mined. Once set, most people can't tell lab and natural apart.