As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in farms. That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down. Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents. Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world. The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times the only pearls available to the consumer. There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from pollution. It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.

Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online. Pearls Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials. Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated. Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre. A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.

As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in farms. That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down. Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents. Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world. The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times the only pearls available to the consumer. There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from pollution. It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.

Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online. Pearls Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials. Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated. Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre. A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.

NEW YORK --

Signs of a weaker U.S. housing market and a gloomier outlook on the economy gave investors more reasons to dump stocks.

Major market indexes fell Wednesday after the Commerce Department said new home sales dropped for the first time in five months. Sales dropped 3.6 percent in September to 402,000. Analysts had expected an increase.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 119 points, or 1.2 percent. The Nasdaq composite index slid 2.7 percent, while the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies tumbled 3.5 percent. Many of the stocks in both indexes are considered more risky and pearl strand wholesale  so they suffered some of the biggest losses.

The retreat came as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. added to investors' unease by reducing its expectation for the U.S. economic output for the July-September period. Goldman Sachs predicts third-quarter gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 2.7 percent, weaker than its earlier forecast of 3 percent.

The government's report on third-quarter GDP is due Thursday. Economists are looking for growth at an annual rate of 3.3 percent after a record four straight quarters of contraction.

The day's slide signaled that investors were reassessing their hopes for a recovery in the economy. Demand for safe-havens like Treasurys rose. Stocks of consumer staples companies like Procter & Gamble Co., which makes Tide detergent and Gillette razors, edged higher.

Analysts said the market's slide in the past week isn't surprising given the size of the advance in the last eight months and only mixed economic readings.

"I'm not panicked at the moment," said Manny Weintraub, president of Integre Advisors in New York. "I don't think anyone expected a super robust recovery."

Stocks struggled Tuesday after a disappointing report on consumer confidence stirred worries about the strength of the coming holiday shopping period.

According to cultured pearl preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 119.48, or 1.2 percent, to 9,762.69.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell for the fourth straight day, sliding 20.78, or 2 percent, to 1,042.63. The Nasdaq fell 56.48, or 2.7 percent, to 2,059.61.

DETROIT -- General Motors Co. will announce later this week that it will draw from its government funding to pay the cost of buying a chunk of troubled parts supplier Delphi Corp., a person briefed on the company's finances said Wednesday.

GM has agreed to pearl beads pay several billion dollars to fund Delphi ( DPHI.PK - news - people )'s emergence from bankruptcy protection by buying an equity stake in a new Delphi, purchasing Delphi's global steering business and several of its factories.

Details will be disclosed in a filing Thursday or Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the paperwork has not been filed.

GM has received $52 billion from the federal government. It will draw on the roughly $33 billion in government money allocated to run GM after it left bankruptcy protection in July.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson told The Washington Post ( WPO - news - people ) Wednesday that the company would not need further government aid.

The person said the money isn't being drawn to fund GM's day-to-day operations, but would not give details of how GM is paying its bills.

The automaker, which is 61 percent owned by the government, plans to release details of its finances in November.

Troy, Mich.-based Delphi, once GM's parts division, was spun off in 1999 as a separate company but was forced to file for Chapter 11 in October 2005. It still produces about 10 percent of the parts used in GM's global manufacturing, and its components go into nearly all of GM's North American production lines.

Delphi emerged from bankruptcy protection on Oct. 6 as a new company after completing a deal with its lenders and receiving a promise for billions in loans from GM. Delphi's survival ensures a steady stream of critical parts to GM.

As part of the deal, GM agreed to pearl earrings wholesale buy an equity stake in the new Delphi. It also agreed to take back some of Delphi's businesses, including its Saginaw, Mich., steering operations and parts manufacturing facilities in Lockport and Rochester, N.Y., Wyoming, Mich., and Kokomo, Ind.

GM also will contribute billions in aid to help finance the deal.

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats reached agreement Wednesday on key elements of a health care bill that would vastly alter America's medical landscape, requiring virtually universal sign-ups and offering a new government-run insurance option for millions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was planning a formal announcement Thursday morning, contingent on the outcome of a meeting of House leaders Wednesday afternoon, according to lawmakers and aides. Officials said the legislation could be up for a vote on the House floor next week.

The rollout would cap months of arduous negotiations to tin cup pearl necklace bridge differences between liberal and moderate Democrats and blend health care overhaul bills passed by three separate committees over the summer. The developments in the House came as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., tried to round up support among moderate Democrats for his bill, which includes a modified government insurance option that states could opt out of.

The final product in the House, reflecting many of President Barack Obama's priorities, includes new requirements for employers to offer insurance to their workers or face penalties, fines on Americans who don't purchase coverage and subsidies to help lower-income people do so. Insurance companies would face new prohibitions against charging much more to older people or denying coverage to people with health conditions.

The price tag, topping $1 trillion over 10 years, would be paid for by taxing high-income people and cutting some $500 billion in payments to Medicare providers. The legislation would extend health coverage to around 95 percent of Americans.

"I'm pretty confident that we've got the right pieces in place," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, one of the three panels involved in writing the bill. "We can quibble over parts of it, but the fact is when you're taking a 60-year-old system that grew up in a rather haphazard fashion and you're trying to bring some coherence to it, these are sort of the things you have to do at the beginning of that process."

Plenty of work remains to button pearl be done before a bill could land on Obama's desk - and there's still no guarantee that Congress can complete the legislation before year's end, as the president wants. If Obama does sign a health overhaul bill, he will have bucked decades of failed attempts by past administrations, most recently by former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

House leaders want to begin debate on their bill next week, with the aim of finishing before Veteran's Day, Nov. 11. The Senate is aiming to start debate sometime in the next several weeks.

Bills passed by the House and Senate would have to be merged before a final product could be sent to Obama, and there are a number of differences between the two chambers that would have to be reconciled. Among them are the different approaches to the public plan - the House does not include the opt-out provision for states; more stringent requirements for employers in the House bill; and a tax on high-value insurance plans that the Senate uses to pay for the bill but that's absent from the House version.

In the end, Pelosi, D-Calif., and other House leaders were unable to round up the necessary votes for their preferred version of the government insurance plan - one that would base payment rates to providers on rates paid by Medicare. Instead, the Health and Human Services secretary would negotiate rates with providers, the approach preferred by moderates and the one that will be featured in the Senate's version.

That marked a defeat for liberal lawmakers, who argued for months that a public insurance plan tied to Medicare would save more money for the government, and offer cheaper rates to consumers. Moderates feared that doctors, hospitals and other providers, particularly those in rural states, would be hurt, and in the end they looked poised to prevail, despite constituting a distinct minority in the 256-member House Democratic caucus.

Some liberals were prepared to pearl pendant accept the negotiated rate structure. Others were still withholding support, even while pointing to Reid's inclusion of a government insurance plan in the Senate bill as a victory in itself.

"We were laughed at in August. Who would have thought that the Senate bill would have a public option?" said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive ( PGR - news - people ) Caucus.

Woolsey was noncommittal about whether progressives would accept the negotiated rates. "This is not walkaway time and it is not acceptance time," Woolsey said.

The legislation would set up a new purchasing exchange where small businesses and individuals without affordable health care options could shop for and compare insurance plans. The new public plan would be one offered in the exchange, and it would be optional; an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office of early versions of the bill said that the public plan would be expected to cover 9 million to 10 million people by 2019.

The House plan also envisions a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for low income people.

Democratic leaders still faced disputes over prohibiting taxpayer money for abortions and health care for illegal immigrants, issues they hoped to resolve after the bill's unveiling.

Republican House members quickly criticized the legislation as a government takeover.

"Americans health care is too important to freshwater pearl jewelry risk on one gigantic bill that was negotiated behind closed doors," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich. "The Medicare cuts will hurt seniors, the tax increases will kill jobs and the government takeover of health care will increase premium costs.

Associated Press writers David Espo and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

BEIJING --

Asian stock markets fell for a third day Thursday after a Wall Street sell-off on signs of weakness in the U.S. housing market triggered fears about the health of the global recovery.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul all lost about 2 percent or more after a U.S. government report showed new home sales fell unexpectedly in September for the first time since March. That fueled fears the housing rebound was driven solely by government policies that are being withdrawn before the private sector recovers.

"This really increased nervousness about the health of the global recovery and market valuations," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist for SJS Markets in Hong Kong.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was down 200.2 points, or 2 percent, at 9,879.37 points while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 2.1 percent to pearl jewelry 2,967.52.

Taiwan's Taiex suffered the region's biggest decline, falling 3 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 2.4 percent at 21,235.88.

Adding to investor nervousness was Norway's decision Wednesday to become the first European country to raise interest rates since the crisis began, Kowalczyk said. That prompted worries governments might be withdrawing stimulus measures before private sector activity has fully recovered, he said.

"Concerns are that if this support wanes or is withdrawn and the private sector is unable to replace government monetary actions, there could be another economic slump," Kowalczyk said.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi fell 2.2 percent, Australia's benchmark was off 2.5 percent and Singapore's market dropped 0.8 percent.

Wall Street was hit Wednesday by a government report that showed September sales of new homes falling by a 3.6 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000. Economists had expected 440,000.

The Dow fell 119.48, or 1.2 percent, to 9,762.69. The index is down in five of the past seven days.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 20.78, or 2 percent, to 1,042.63. The Nasdaq dropped 56.48, or 2.7 percent, to 2,059.61.

Those falls were despite a separate U.S. government report that showed durable goods orders rose in line with expectations in September.

Also Wednesday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast of U.S. economic output in the July-September quarter from an annual rate of 3 percent to 2.7 percent. The government is due to report quarterly growth Thursday, and economists are looking for growth at an annual rate of 3.3 percent after a record four straight quarters of contraction.

Oil prices slid to rice pearl near $77 a barrel in Asia as an unexpected jump in U.S. gasoline supplies cast doubt on the strength of a recovery in crude demand.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 31 cents to $77.14 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.09 to settle at $77.46 on Wednesday.

In currencies, the dollar yen to 90.29 yen from 90.64 yen. The euro rose to $1.4717 from $1.4714.