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.

Having vanished from the gossip columns for a while, exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky returned to the country's headlines last week. The Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK) daily took the initiative, publishing a story on Sept. 24 under its "rumor rating" column with a headline that read: "Berezovsky knew about the planned terrorist attacks in America."

"An investigation into ¡®commercial clues' behind the terrorist attacks is well under way in America within companies with activities directly connected to freshwater pearldisgraced oligarch Boris Berezovsky," said the report, which alleged that the oligarch's assets were transferred abroad long ago and have increased in value following the attacks in New York and Washington.

Praising Putin?

The following day, MK devoted considerably more space to Berezovsky and another notorious oligarch, Vladimir Gusinsky. While the article dedicated just a few lines to Gusinsky, it shone a spotlight on Berezovsky, who is reportedly ready to invest $150 million to fight the Kremlin. The Berezovsky-controlled TV-6 television network will serve as the main weapon in this battle, MK wrote, wondering when the battle might begin.

Finally, on Sept. 26, the newspaper declared that Berezovsky's right-hand man, Lev Chernoi, is busy preparing the oligarch's return, creating an "industrial-political base that can be used, if need be, to oppose the Kremlin."

While it is not unusual that MK seeks to discredit Berezovsky ¨C the newspaper was always consistent in mocking him ¨C it is rather surprising that it has devoted three articles in a row to Berezovsky without any obvious news peg. But just because the reason isn't obvious, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The readers may not see it, but the publication's bosses, it seems, genuinely believe in an upcoming battle between Berezovsky and the Kremlin.

The indirect confirmation of these suspicions came in Berezovsky's last interview with the Kommersant daily, published on Sept. 28. In what looks like a sudden about-face, Berezovsky praised Putin, interpreting the president's ultimatum to Chechen rebel fighters as an "invitation to begin negotiations." Berezovsky praised Putin for recognizing that the rebels are not just bloodthirsty murderers, but are thoughtful strategists motivated by their own set of views.

"He has won, because he's started calling a spade a spade," Berezovsky told Kommersant. "I think that this statement is a victory for Putin ¨C a victory over himself, too. For the first time, I see that he's a politician who thinks at least two steps ahead. He can learn; he's growing."

Observers mistakenly linked the interview to a Sept. 27 decision of a Moscow arbitration court to liquidate TV-6. They think Berezovsky is sucking up to the authorities to smooth the situation. But, Kommersant sources say, Berezovsky was interviewed hours before the court passed its verdict.

A prominent specialist in regional politics, who asked to remain anonymous, said he linked the interview to Berezovsky's plans to "topple" Putin.

"Let's not forget that Berezovsky didn't just predict Putin's demise. He said that this demise would happen very soon," he said, adding that Berezovsky had put "a lot of money" into these plans and had been visited abroad by loyal governors whose help he hoped to cultured pearl jewelry enlist in ousting Putin.

"But then the attacks on the United States upset his plans," the specialist added. "Putin greatly strengthened his positions in the West, leaving Berezovsky no choice but to take this ¡®new reality' into account. This means he has to delay his ¡®overthrow' plans. But he has to explain to his supporters why, despite his predictions, Putin is still in power. This is why he's making it look like he's ¡®forgiven' Putin ¨C in order to buy time."

TV-6 liquidation

Although Berezovsky's interview isn't linked to the arbitration court's decision to liquidate TV-6, the court's decision is directly linked to Berezovsky's anti-Putin plans. The Kremlin knows about these plans, especially since Berezovsky never made them secret. Judging by the buzz in the press, the Kremlin takes them seriously and, therefore, wants to defuse Berezovsky's capacity to act. Above all, that means destroying his ideological arsenal ¨C TV-6.

Though the battle-weary TV-6 journalists say they're fed up with war, and though Yevgeny Kiselyov, the ousted NTV head and current TV-6 director, says that the network is completely independent, no one believes that Berezovsky wouldn't take the opportunity to use the channel in his fight with the Kremlin. The conclusion for the Kremlin is that TV-6 has to go.

That is the reason the arbitration court agreed to uphold a suit filed by LUKoil, a minority TV-6 shareholder, to liquidate the company because of its negative balance. Given that half the companies in Russia have a negative balance, which means liabilities are greater than assets, it looks as though LUKoil and the arbitration court were obeying orders from above.

No NTV repeat

Another matter, as Berezovsky correctly pointed out, is that Putin can indeed learn. It looks as though he is not going to repeat last year's mistakes when he whipped up a storm in Russia and abroad with the NTV saga that included men in masks, vicious prosecutors, and numerous arrests.

This time will be different. TV-6 will be taken out quietly, in the courts, on the basis of legally valid, even if biased, evidence. NTV could also have been dealt with quietly if the matter had been limited to Gazprom filing a suit to rice pearl recover its debts. The only person who can save TV-6 now is Berezovsky himself, if he agrees to the Kremlin's demands to sell his shares to LUKoil. For the TV-6 journalists, however, coming under LUKoil's control would be the same as having the network liquidated.

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, sent on a secretive mission to Iraq over the weekend, did not discuss finding asylum for the Iraqi leader, a top Iraqi official said in an interview published Tuesday.

Yevgeny Primakov, a Middle East expert who has known Saddam Hussein since the 1970s, met with the Iraqi leader on Sunday as Putin's personal envoy.

"It's ridiculous," Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said of media speculation that Primakov's agenda might include finding asylum for Saddam.

"No member of the Iraqi leadership has any intention of leaving Baghdad," al-Sahhaf told the Russian daily Vremya Novostei. "No normal, respectable person can make such an offer to pearl strand wholesale our president, especially Primakov."

Al-Sahhaf said that Primakov had visited Baghdad to "show solidarity with Iraq" and angrily dismissed suggestions that the envoy had put any pressure on Iraq to disarm. "Iraq is already cooperating very closely with the inspectors," he said.

Russian officials have not divulged details of Primakov's trip. The Foreign Ministry said in a terse statement Monday that the aim of his meeting with Saddam was to explain Russia's position on Iraq and receive an assurance that it would fulfill U.N. disarmament resolutions and cooperate "completely and unconditionally" with weapons inspectors.

It said Saddam told Primakov the inspectors would not be hindered.

Primakov's spokeswoman Anastasia Korchagina refused to give any further details Tuesday.

Primakov served as Russia's intelligence chief, foreign minister and, finally, prime minister during the 1990s. He later led a moderate parliamentary faction before becoming the head of Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The business daily Kommersant interpreted Primakov's trip as a Kremlin attempt to persuade the Iraqi leader to pearl jewelry wholesale fully comply with the U.N. demands, but added that Primakov was too pro-Saddam to squeeze any concessions from Baghdad.

"Primakov's mission to Baghdad ... was doomed to failure from the very start," Kommersant said. "He is considered a friend of Saddam, but he's not the kind of politician able to flatly and honestly tell the Iraqi leader the real price of averting a U.S. strike: Baghdad's ... unconditional disarmament."

Kommersant pointed at Primakov's visit to Baghdad in a futile attempt to prevent the 1991 Gulf War and his efforts to avert NATO's 1999 air campaign against another Russian ally, Yugoslavia. "It has become a tradition for Primakov to go on a secret mission to regions where it's already impossible to avert a war," it added sarcastically.

Meanwhile, amid intense international diplomacy over Iraq, the Kremlin said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will visit Moscow on Wednesday for talks with Putin.

The visit comes two days after a U.S-backed resolution declaring that Iraq missed its chance to peacefully disarm set the stage for a battle in the U.N. Security Council over whether to give the green light for war or allow more time for inspections. France, Germany and Russia circulated a plan to pursue a peaceful disarmament of Iraq through strengthened inspections.

On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized Moscow's opposition to military action in Iraq and said it intends to mount a diplomatic push to help resolve the crisis peacefully.

Putin also discussed Iraq with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on Tuesday, and Iraq is among the topics Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will discuss during a visit to akoya pearl necklace China - like Russia a veto-wielding permanent U.N. Security Council member - that begins Wednesday.

"Moscow and Beijing insist that all possible efforts be made to avert a military scenario in Iraq," the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko as saying.

TBILISI - The British newspaper Daily Telegraph has published an interview with Eduard Shevardnadze, who resigned as President of Georgia on Sunday. Mr. Shevardnadze complained about ungratefulness and betrayal on the part of the West.

In the opinion of the deposed Georgian leader, the United States helped to orchestrate his downfall. Upset by what he saw as a gross betrayal by his friends, Mr. Shevardnadze vented his sense of hurt, particularly at the role of Richard Miles, the American ambassador, whom he alleged was instrumental in the opposition's success in unseating him, as well as local activists backed with American money, the newspaper reports.

Mr. Shevardnadze also recalled his achievements as the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union. "If the Cold War had not stopped there would have been a Third World War," he told the Daily Telegraph. "We rescued the world. I'm not saying that I did it alone but I played one of the most important roles. There were 40,000 Soviet tanks in Europe and hundreds of thousands of guns. Within 24 hours they could have been on the Atlantic coast [of France] but we didn't do that even when the hotheads wanted to wholesale pearl jewelryuse force in Berlin and crush Solidarity in Poland," he was quoted as saying.

In recent years, Mr. Shevardnadze said, he had been one of the staunchest supporters of the United States. "When they needed my support on Iraq I gave it. What happened here, this I cannot explain," he stressed.

According to the latest information, Eduard Shevardnadze will not leave Georgia. Yesterday he visited his office on the 11th floor of Georgia's State Chancellery. He packed his things and left for his residence in Krtsanisi. The ex-president has no private apartment in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. He told reporters on Wednesday that he was going to write a book and explain the reasons for his resignation.

MOSCOW - A former Russian defense minister on Thursday accused the United States of trying to dominate Russia and alleged that former and current Kremlin and military leaders had permitted the country to be forced into submission.

"Russia now is an occupied country," retired Gen. Igor Rodionov told a sympathetic audience of World War II veterans who gathered for a conference on threats to Russia's security marking the anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.

"Our geopolitical enemy has achieved what Hitler wanted to akoya pearl necklace do," Rodionov said in an emotional speech. "Neither our nuclear forces and tank armadas nor the KGB could save us."

Communist lawmaker Viktor Ilyukhin issued similar dark warnings of alleged U.S. hostile intentions. "Russia may suffer another tragedy," he said. "American pressure is now focused on Russia."

Speeches at the veterans' conference repeated the staple rhetoric of Communists and other hard-liners. However, Russian media have recently spread similar fears of U.S. intrigues against Moscow to a broader audience.

The popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, one of Russia's largest circulation newspapers, recently published an article by a mysterious, previously unknown military expert who theorized that the United States would invade Russia after many of its aging Soviet-era nuclear missiles are taken off duty after 2010. The story has been reprinted in other media including many Internet web sites.

The theory has been derided by mainstream Russian politicians and analysts, but opinion polls suggest that many Russians share a deep distrust of the United States.

A nationwide poll conducted at the end of May by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research, Russia's top independent polling service, showed that 44 percent of respondents had a "strongly negative or mostly negative" view of the United States, while 46 percent had a positive attitude and 10 percent couldn't describe their position. The poll of 1,600 had a margin of error of no more than 3.4 percentage points.

The poll reflected the disagreements between Keishi pearl Russia and the United States over Iraq that have marred bilateral ties following a honeymoon resulting from Putin's support for the U.S. war in Afghanistan. U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Putin have both signaled the intention to move past the dispute over Iraq.

Foreigners like Ted Turner and George Soros, tempted to save NTV with their money, are unlikely to get the opportunity to become the white knights of Russia¡¯s opposition media and rescue the network.

NTV and its shares are surrounded by such a solid wall of court cases that hopes of buying a stake look set to be dashed.

The same goes for the Russian Journalists¡¯ Union, the Foundation for the Defense of Glasnost and Yelena Bonner, who have opened a special account to collect donations from the public to akoya pearl necklace pay off NTV¡¯s debts. This is equally doomed.

No one wants to take this money. Gazprom, NTV¡¯s main creditor, has spent the last year telling the world that NTV has only to pay its debts and the gas giant will back off. But when that hope came in the form of foreigners looking to buy shares, Gazprom did a radical about-face.

When Gazprom and Media-MOST signed an agreement last November, Gazprom held 46 percent of NTV shares; Vladimir Gusinsky¡¯s Media-MOST held 49.5 percent; and 4.5 percent was held by another company, Capital Research.

But under the terms of the agreement, 19 percent of Gusinsky¡¯s shares were to be sold through Deutsche Bank to a recognized foreign investor. If the shares weren¡¯t sold by July 2001 ¨C the date that Media-MOST¡¯s first loan tranche from Gazprom falls due ¨C the shares were to go to Gazprom.

Deutsche Bank eventually pulled out of the deal, and Gazprom decided to take the shares without waiting until July. Acting on Gazprom¡¯s request, an arbitration court put an arrest on the shares until Feb. 14, when the case is to be heard.

As soon as the news came through that Turner wanted to buy the shares for $300 million ¨C exactly the amount NTV needs to pay its debts ¨C Gazprom began to take more active measures.

On Jan. 19, Alfred Koch, the president of Gazprom-Media, called journalists for an informal meeting at which he told them that the bailiffs were about to arrest the shares and prevent them from being used in voting. "This will give us the biggest stake with voting rights," Koch said, "but we¡¯re not going to call a shareholder meeting or make changes to the board of directors before July."

Later the same day at a Media-MOST press conference, journalists were told that Turner was willing to pay $300 million for the shares. A week after that, a bailiff did exactly as Koch predicted. But how did Koch know what the bailiff would decide, when the arbitration court had only authorized him to cultured akoya pearl arrest the shares and not to ban their voting rights?

On Jan. 26, Koch suddenly announced that there would be an extraordinary shareholder meeting and change of management at NTV. "Now, we¡¯ve got 46 percent of shares with voting rights, and Gusinsky has only 30.5 percent," he said. "We demand to call an extraordinary shareholders¡¯ meeting and elect a new board of directors. Six of its members will be from Gazprom and three from Media-MOST."

If this meeting goes ahead, NTV will end up with a new general director. The director needs to get two-thirds of the vote, and Gazprom has enough votes now to push through its candidate.

What all these events suggest is that Gazprom isn¡¯t interested in getting its money back; it wants to become the main shareholder in NTV.

For their part, Media-MOST and NTV have filed suits in two different courts. They want the Moscow Arbitration Court to revoke the bailiff¡¯s decision and return voting rights for the 19 percent of shares. If the court upholds the request, Gazprom won¡¯t be able to change the NTV board. But the court decision will have to come fast ¨C under Russian law, an extraordinary shareholders meeting must be held within 45 days of the call being made.

Media-MOST has also laid a complaint with a court in London against Gazprom for its attempts to take the 19 percent stake without waiting until July. If these two different courts in two different countries make different decisions, this will create an unusual international law case study.

Even if Media-MOST wins back its 19 percent stake, there are still no guarantees foreigners would be able to buy the shares.

As well as the two court cases in Moscow and one in London on the 19 percent stake, there are four other cases in Moscow brought by tax inspectors to pearl jewelry wholesale liquidate the companies that make up Media-MOST (TNT, NTV, NTV-plus and Media-MOST itself).

If the tax authorities succeed in their bid to have the companies liquidated, then foreigners¡¯ interest in keeping Russia¡¯s only opposition channel going will liquidate all of its own accord.