Have you thought about having certain styles of clasps which don't require gimp? Of course if you're willing to spend some money on new clasps.
This way of stringing is interesting, there's no need for some gimp. Photo courtesy of Cees Van Oije.
Peach colored akoya pearls don't exist as far as I can remember. You must have seen the "pearl party" kind of show. Those pearls are inserted in the dead oyster and put in chemicals to prevent the oyster from decaying. There's a thread about that on PG.
And as far as I know, wss pearls are not...
I've heard the term "collection quality", the term coined by American Pearl, this refers to the supposedly best akoya pearls that are available. They claim that their collection quality is better than Hanadama.
I haven't heard of "Granpearls".
If your vendor insists that they are natural color then you got a fantastic quality gssp strand. That deep color, often described as 24k gold, is special. Congratulations on your winner gssp strand. Wear it in good health! :D
Today I noticed that Kongs Pearl on Etsy also uses the same term as Wen: freshwater akoya pearls.
So now I'm curious what do they look like in real life, Pattye?