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.

Health care services company Kindred Healthcare Inc. said Monday it turned a better-than-expected profit in the pearl jewelry third quarter, compared with a year-ago period in which it lost money after closing a hospital. Kindred also raised its 2009 profit forecast, but expressed concern about the effects that lower Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates could have on its nursing center business next year, sending shares tumbling in biwa pearl after-hours trading. Kindred said it earned $5.5 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with a loss of $21.3 million, or 54 cents per share a year ago. The most recent quarter included a tax gain of 4 cents per share. One year ago, Kindred booked a $22.1 million charge after closing a hospital, and said its results were hurt by shorter stays by patients, higher costs, and hurricanes in the Gulf region. Excluding one-time items, Kindred said it earned 5 cents per share in the akoya pearl 2008 period. Revenue picked up 6 percent to $1.06 billion from $997.1 million, with growth seen across all divisions. The company said results were helped by growth in non-government admissions and favorable commercial pricing.

Developers of a $1.6 billion electric power plant in northeastern South Dakota abandoned the project Monday, saying they were unable to akoya pearl recruit other investors after one of the principal utility backers pulled out. The Big Stone II plant, planned for construction next to an existing power station near Milbank, S.D., was meant to supply about 550 megawatts of power to utilities in biwa pearl North Dakota, South Dakota and southern Minnesota. It had the necessary permits from state regulators to begin building, but financing the plant's construction proved to be too difficult, project officials said. Representatives of environmental groups celebrated the project's demise, saying continued development of a large, coal-fueled power station went against national trends favoring wind power and other renewable energy sources. "This is happening in the context of coal plants around the country being abandoned," said Margaret Levin, state director for the Minnesota North Star chapter of the Sierra Club. "I would certainly attribute this outcome to pearl jewelry an increased understanding ... that we have got to switch away from coal and other dirty forms of power," Levin said.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) ¡ª Ford Motor Co. said Monday it will ask its lenders for extra time to repay at least some of the pearl jewelry $10.1 billion borrowed under a line of credit, and will sell about $3.3 billion in stock and convertible debt to raise more cash. Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said that over time the moves will "reduce the company's debt burden, providing an additional cushion given the still uncertain state of the economy." The news came after Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, reported a surprise quarterly profit of nearly $1 billion and said it biwa pearl will be profitable by 2011. Ford said it will pay down 25 percent of the revolving credit line and is offering higher interest and fees on its remaining debt if lenders would agree to push back the date the credit line is due by two years to Nov. 30, 2013. In a filing with the akoya pearl Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, Ford listed borrowings under its secured revolving loan due in 2011 at about $10.1 billion and said the loan bears interest at 2.25 percent above the London interbank offered rate. It had borrowed the $10.1 billion on Feb. 3, "due to concerns about the instability in the capital markets and the uncertain state of the global economy," Ford said in the Aug. 5 filing.

Purchase, N.Y. (TheStreet) -- MasterCard(MA Quote) is set to report its third-quarter results before the opening bell on Tuesday, and the company's prospects continue to bode well as increasing numbers of consumers and businesses shift to plastic payments from cash. But, following a strong report last week from rival Visa (V Quote) and the outperformance of MasterCard's stock in the past year, Wall Street is likely expecting an upside surprise. The average estimate of akoya pearl analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for a profit of $2.94 a share from MasterCard in the September quarter on $1.35 billion of revenue. In the year-earlier quarter, the company lost $193.5 million, or $1.49 a share. Last year's results included a charge of $827.5 million ($515.5 million after taxes) related to an antitrust litigation settlement with Discover Financial Services (DFS Quote). Excluding the charge, MasterCard earned $2.47 a share in the year-ago period, besting the average analysts' view of $2.25 a share Some indications about MasterCard's performance can likely be extrapolated from the numbers recently posted by Visa, which is nearly double the size of biwa pearl MasterCard. Based in San Francisco, Visa reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $552 million, or 74 cents per class A common share on Oct. 27, coming in 2 cents ahead of Wall Street's consensus view. Visa's better than expected profit primarily came from continued growth in its debit business as well as its volume of processed transactions, factors that may not carry the same weight for MasterCard. While neither company holds loans on its balance sheet, a fact that's allowed each to largely avoid the credit troubles of the last two years, both firms have been hit by reduced payments volumes, particularly in their U.S.-based credit card businesses. MasterCard, however, has been affected more than Visa because it pearl jewelry relies more heavily on its credit card business. MasterCard is making headway in its debit business but it still has a long way to go to surpass Visa.

But while the S&P Retail Index is nearly flat, there are some big movers within the sector. Zale(ZLC Quote) is one of the pearl jewelry biggest gainers, surging 6.6% to $5.04, after falling more than 20% on Friday. Last week, the jeweler announced that it widened its loss in its fourth quarter and is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission on accounting issues. Wal-Mart Stores(WMT Quote), meanwhile, is up 1% to $50.17 this afternoon after it announced it is cutting prices on biwa pearl toys by 20% to 30%. This is the second round of price cuts for the category, as Wal-Mart solidifies its place as the price leader for the holiday season. Nordstrom(JWN Quote) has risen by 1.1% to $32.14 after it was upgraded by Deutsche Bank to buy from hold, as it predicts sales growth. The high-end department store's move to cut prices and offer higher-quality merchandise should give it a boost, analyst Bill Dreher wrote in a research note. 99 Cents Only Stores(NDN Quote) is jumping 5.5% to $11.99 ahead of akoya pearl its second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday. Meanwhile, other notable gainers include Chico's FAS(CHS Quote), which is advancing 4.9% to $12.54, Dollar Tree(DLTR Quote), which is gaining 5% to $47.38, and Vitamin Shoppe(VSI Quote), which is increasing by 4.2% to $18.31.