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.

The AllAfrica Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization registered in Mauritius and the District of Columbia, was founded for three purposes: to focus global public and policy attention on critical issues for African development; to support the growth of independent African media; and to provide skills and training for African journalists. The christmas gifts Foundation maintains SustainableAfrica.org and PeaceAfrica.net as "digital commons" on development and peace issues, providing information and connecting groups and individuals with shared concerns and activities.

The foundation's health project, scheduled to launch later this year, will provide current news, extensive research and data, educational materials, institutional linkages and a forum for discussion. "HealthAfrica will use the reach and influence of allAfrica.com to highlight Africa's health emergency ¨C and the opportunities for effectively  cultured pearl jewelry confronting it," said Tamela Hultman, AllAfrica's chief strategy and content officer, who is the company's liaison with the foundation. "Policy makers and health professionals need a constant stream of easily accessible information and a neutral platform for interaction and dialogue," she said. "Governments and NGOs, as well as international organizations, have told us that this effort is a missing piece of the puzzle for making their work successful."

Central to HealthAfrica is a path-breaking online tool-set to map and track funding for health, providing the first integrated database of donors, recipients, projects, goals and outcomes. Because the government of Liberia places a priority pearl necklace wholesale on public health, on the transparency of public institutions and the use of public resources, and on collaborative partnerships with policymakers and funders, the AllAfrica Foundation plans to inaugurate the initiative in Liberia, as a prototype for a subsequent country-by-country rollout.

AllAfrica Global Media today opened an online international news processing center in the capital of Liberia that will also serve as the hub for HealthAfrica (brief preliminary description at healthafrica.org), a pan-African initiative of the AllAfrica Foundation.

"As a global disseminator of news christmas jewelry and information, our decision to set up operations in Liberia was a carefully considered corporate choice," said CEO Reed Kramer, "It was based on our analysis that the government's commitment to transparent, democratic processes and to rebuilding infrastructure provides an environment where growing, technology-dependent enterprises can thrive."

As a multi-media content service provider, AllAfrica reaches a worldwide audience. HealthAfrica is designed to provide a broad range cultured freshwater pearl of information and resources, as well as to function as an online facility to track and monitor funding for health in Africa and a software tool for matching health needs with skilled volunteers.

The AllAfrica office in Monrovia will also host a journalism and media center to contribute to ongoing training and professional growth among Liberian media practitioners. Having secured the collaboration of the International Center for Journalists bread pearl and other partners, the media center will conduct periodic training programs and provide a resource for best-practice information on topics such as ethics in journalism and objective reporting standards, as well as in reporting and editorial skills.

With the advent of its office in Monrovia, AllAfrica will also initiate a special reporting project to highlight "Liberia on the Move" amid the enormous challenges it faces. Through human interest and investigative stories, AllAfrica will help the global cultured pearl community better appreciate the issues facing Liberia and the efforts, at all levels of society, to confront and solve the country's problems creatively.

AllAfrica is the largest electronic distributor of African news and information globally and operates the most popular Africa destination on the Internet, allAfrica.com, serving over 12 million monthly page views. The site was nominated in two successive years by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences as "Best News Site," alongside news sites of the BBC, MSNBC and Google. In 2005 AllAfrica was awarded the African Economic cultured pearl jewelry Developer award by Nepad, the New Partnership for African Development.

The Liberia news operation will be a part of the AllAfrica Global Media/allafrica.com family, which includes offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Dakar and Washington DC. All are linked by a "virtual newsroom" through which editors and dancing pearl staff aggregate information. "Our team is proud to have created global visibility and a revenue stream for African news organizations, publishing in both French and English," said Rougui Diaw, AllAfrica's financial analyst and director of West African operations. "An expanding presence across Africa is central to our long-term growth. And we are particularly honored to welcome Liberia, as a peaceful, vibrant democracy, to AllAfrica's work."

AllAfrica has become widely regarded as the source-of-record for news and information about Africa, distributing more than 1000 articles on an average day. Along with stories from leading African newspapers, the prize-winning AllAfrica news team provides additional reporting and analysis and selects newsworthy documents from cultured akoya pearl more than 200 other sources, including local and international organizations. The AllAfrica News Wire supplies institutional, corporate, and financial clients through such services as Factiva (Reuters and Dow Jones) LexisNexis, Bloomberg, Comtex News Network and Financial Times, which collectively reach tens of millions of end users.

The company's innovative technology knits together its global operations. AllAfrica's Cape Town office manages the web site, supervising news processing in Washington, DC and Dakar, while a Lagos-based team produces and freshwater pearl broadcasts news, culture and health programs. Editing of the French site takes place in Dakar. Technology development and architecture is coordinated from AllAfrica's Copenhagen office.

The AllAfrica Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization registered in Mauritius and the District of Columbia, was founded for three purposes: to focus global public and policy attention on critical issues for African development; to support the growth of independent African media; and to provide skills and training for African journalists. The  christmas jewelry Foundation maintains SustainableAfrica.org and PeaceAfrica.net as "digital commons" on development and peace issues, providing information and connecting groups and individuals with shared concerns and activities.

AllAfrica has become widely regarded as the source-of-record for news and information about Africa, distributing more than 1000 articles on an average day. Along with stories from leading African newspapers, the prize-winning AllAfrica news team provides additional reporting and analysis and selects newsworthy documents from more than 200 other sources, including local and international organizations. The AllAfrica News Wire christmas jewelry supplies institutional, corporate, and financial clients through such services as Factiva (Reuters and Dow Jones) LexisNexis, Bloomberg, Comtex News Network and Financial Times, which collectively reach tens of millions of end users.

The company's innovative technology knits together its global operations. AllAfrica's Cape Town office manages the web site, supervising news processing in Washington, DC and Dakar, while a Lagos-based team produces and akoya pearl necklace broadcasts news, culture and health programs. Editing of the French site takes place in Dakar. Technology development and architecture is coordinated from AllAfrica's Copenhagen office.

The AllAfrica Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization registered in Mauritius and the District of Columbia, was founded for three purposes: to focus global public and policy attention on critical issues for African development; to support the pearl necklace wholesale growth of independent African media; and to provide skills and training for African journalists. The Foundation maintains SustainableAfrica.org and PeaceAfrica.net as "digital commons" on development and peace issues, providing information and connecting groups and individuals with shared concerns and activities.