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.

Although KPMG had done some internal research into life settlements as an investment concept, it did not construct the Keydata financial models, or have any involvement in checking credit ratings.

KPMG did not see the statement for Issue 1. But when Issue 2 was launched in October 2005 with the same wording, KPMG objected "most strongly" to Keydata. A letter sent this month by cultured freshwater pearl John Griffith-Jones, UK chairman of KPMG, to a member of the Keydata victims action group (keydatavictims.ning.com), says: "We dissociated ourselves from the brochure and called upon them [Keydata] to bring that to the attention of all recipients of the brochure."

Keydata failed to respond. KPMG then made a complaint to the FSA, but the watchdog did not move formally against Keydata.

HSBC also dissociated itself from Keydata's brochure, which said: "Trading of the insurance contracts is overseen by HSBC." HSBC Bank USA says: "We have had no relationship with Keydata with respect to freshwater pearl pendant Secure Income Bonds."

The action group argues that the case for refunds from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is now overwhelming.

An FSA spokesperson said: "The FSA is unable to comment on Keydata to prevent prejudice to legal actions which are currently progressing."

The FSCS added: "The FSCS is now at an advanced stage of its investigations and analysis into issues arising out of the akoya loose pearl administration of Keydata, with a view to confirming its involvement in compensating investors with claims against the firm."

New rules to make banks and building societies treat their customers more fairly will come into force on Sunday when the Financial Services Authority (FSA) takes over the regulation of their day-to-day dealings with customers.

At the same time, the rules governing the twisted pearl necklace way payments, including direct debits and money transfers within the UK and to overseas accounts, and many debit and credit card transactions will also change under the Payment Services Regulations.

The changes will force financial services firms to give prospective customers more information about their products upfront; to give existing customers at least two months' notice before they cut savings rates; and to pay interest on balance transfers as soon as they receive the money.

Where a customer claims to have lost money through an unauthorised transaction the onus will now be on banks and building societies to prove there is a good reason why they should not be refunded, rather than on the freshwater pearl strand consumer to prove there has been a fraud, as is currently the case.

Dan Waters, the FSA's director of conduct risk, said the regulations addressed areas that had been of major concern to customers. "New regulations will put banking customers in the driving seat by setting down clear standards that people can expect from their institution, like speeding up payments between accounts, adequate notice of changes in terms and conditions, and cultured freshwater pearl smoothing the procedure for querying an unauthorised or unexpected transaction.

"If firms fall short of these standards or fail to treat their customers fairly the FSA will take action."

Vera Cottrell, principal policy adviser at the consumer group Which?, said she hoped the regulations would mean a fairer deal for consumers, but the FSA would have to keep an eye on the banks.

"What we liked about the Banking Code [which the regulations replace] was that it was very proscriptive. For example, when it cultured pearl jewelry came to switching bank accounts it said how many days the switch had to be completed in. The FSA handbook doesn't set tight timeframes, it just says 'in good time'," she said.

"It is principle-based regulation and that is always more difficult to enforce, so the FSA needs to make sure banks are doing what they are supposed to be doing."

Other changes coming into force on 1 November are:

Customers with current and instant access accounts must be given at least two months' prior notice of any disadvantageous interest rate changes, unless they are in the terms of the account or it is an account that multi strand pearl necklace tracks another.

Current and instant access account customers will receive interest on money transferred into their accounts from the moment the bank receives the funds. This will be extended to all accounts from 1 February 2010.

If a debit is made from a customer's credit or debit card, or by a direct debit, and it is more than they could reasonably have expected, the entire amount must be refunded by the bank within 10 days unless it can provide evidence not to.

Electronic money transfers to pay bills or other people will have to be completed by close of business the next day. Until 1 January 2012 this can be extended to the third working day, as long as it has been agreed between the customer and the payment service provider.

Large companies specialising in freshwater pearl jewelry money transfers must keep consumers' money separate from their own funds in case they go bust.

House prices rose by 0.4% in October to return homeowners to positive territory for the first time since last March, figures published by the UK's biggest building society showed today.

The average value of  cultured pearl jewelry a typical UK property increased to £162,038 ¨C 2% higher year-on-year and the sixth successive monthly rise, the Nationwide Building Society data said. However, the figures showed a slowdown in the monthly pace of increase following the buoyant summer months, down from 0.9% in September and 1.4% in both July and August.

The three-monthly rate of change ¨C generally a smoother indicator of the near-term trend ¨C also dropped back slightly, from 3.8% to 3.4%.

Nationwide said the ease in monthly growth freshwater pearl necklace could indicate that more properties were coming onto the market.

Martin Gahbauer, the building society's chief economist, said: "A moderation in the rate of house price inflation was to be expected, as the very strong monthly increases seen over the summer months were unlikely to be sustainable over the long run.

"Although too early to tell for sure, it may also reflect a more natural level of stock available for sale coming to the akoya pearl necklace market, alleviating some of the extreme shortages of property on the market seen during most of this year."

Earlier this week, the Land Registry reported a 0.9% rise in house prices in England and Wales, an increase on the 0.5% rise in August.

But today's figures are consistent with shell jewelry borrowing data released yesterday, which showed a slowdown in activity as net mortgage lending eased last month in comparison with August.

Although the total number of mortgages approved during the month was higher than August's figure ¨C reaching 109,700 when remortgages, house purchases and other loans secured against property were taken into account ¨C the value of that lending dropped to £11.7bn from multi strand necklace £12bn.

Nationwide warned that the UK's failure to lift out of recession in the third quarter could further hamper the housing market recovery.

A deeper and longer recession may lead to higher unemployment and subdued wages, which could hit property prices, it said.

But the fall in third quarter gross domestic product also increased the likelihood that interest rates would stay low for some time in cultured freshwater pearl a possible boost to property conditions.

"As a result, mortgage affordability will remain relatively favourable for both new and existing borrowers ¨C this should limit the number of distressed sales and cushion the negative impact of labour market weakness on housing demand," Gahbauer said.