Graduated or Not

Q: Re: Full Set of 7.0/7.5mm AA+ or AAA White Akoya Pearls I am interested in possibly purchasing this for my wife on our anniversary. I was wondering about the size. They are one size 7.0 or 7.5. What is variance of size the pearls could be. Also, it appears in the picture that the necklace is graduated. Please explain the sizing there. Is the largest pearl in the necklace 7.0/7.5, depending on the product. Also, kind of tick tack thing, but I noticed the clasp on 7.5mm necklace was fairly bulky as opposed to the 7.0mm which is in my opinion more subdued. At all the places, I looked at this seems to be fairly common. Why? Finally, from an aesthetics perspective, this would be my wife’s first real set of pearls, so we are going for white/ivory. For what purpose do people by the other colors? Also, I would imagine the most popular gold is yellow gold. My wife has a lot of white gold, including her wedding ring. Does it make a difference? Is it just preference? I didn’t see any examples on your website with white gold, so it is difficult to determine whether to get that or not.

A: I will respond to your questions in the order you posed them and hopefully clarify the information you seek.
1. Industry standard is a .5mm graduation allowance for saltwater Akoya strands. This means that the strands in question would be 6.5-7.0mm or 7.0-7.5mm with the smallest pearls in the back where the clasp is attached and then graduating smoothly to the largest in the centre front.
2. The strands may appear more graduated in the photo because of the perspective. In actuality, the strands will only graduate up to .5mm from front to back.
3. There is a standard clasp for all of our strands depending on the size of the pearls. We use a classic pearl clasp on all strands up to 7.0mm, from 7.5mm and up we use a ball style clasp. If you prefer the pearl clasp (also called a fishhook style) we could customize the set for you with the clasp of your choice.
4. Choice of overtone is generally based on skin-tone and personal preference. 5. Gold color is also based on personal preference. If your wife prefers the white metals then you would probably do best to select white gold. This way the pearls will coordinate with her most treasured pieces such as her wedding band.