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.

We say openly, these are terrorists which are responsible for the Pakistani condition now. These are killing the persons without any reason," Khalid says.

At the Islamic University, professors teach a moderate interpretation of Islam, which challenges the Taliban's policy of violent jihad.

Still, many teachers and students are stunned that their school would become a target of the militants.

"We never expected it," says Parveen Qadia Agha, the vice president of the university. "The reason could be to create chaos and to create psychological warfare," she said, adding that attacking "the least expected places creates more havoc."

In recent weeks, militants have stepped up attacks in Islamabad and the eastern city of Lahore. Targets have included police stations, the headquarters of the Pakistani military, a high-ranking Pakistani pearl jewelry army officer, and the office of the U.N. World Food Program.

The waves of suicide bombers come as the Pakistani military's offensive into the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan enters its second week.

Khalid's eyes flash with anger when asked about the army's campaign against the militants in the mountains.

"They should kill them," he says. "They should kill them, those terrorists who are killing innocent people."

Khalid's mother Rokhsana, dressed in a flowing purple dress and scarf, holds an agonizing vigil by her son's side. She is worried that her husband, a police officer, may be caught up in the escalating violence around Pakistan.

"No one is safe anywhere, neither at home or in the wholesale pearl jewelry bazaar or at the hospital," she says.

Despite the horrific extent of his injuries, Khalid is animated, often cracking jokes and waving his bandaged arm in his hospital bed.

"I will join my university when I recover from this injury," he declares.

But he sobers after glimpsing his pearl jewelry wholesale own reflection in the lens of a camera. It is the first time he has seen his face since the attack.

"I have no courage, no patience to see myself," Khalid says. "This explosion will give me many side effects in the future. But what can I do?... I have to face those things."

His legs and arms are wrapped in bandages. His face, shrouded in a mask of cotton.

Waqar Khalid is one of the latest victims of a war that has now spread to Pakistan's schools. The 24-year-old university student lies in a hospital bed, beneath a small printed sign on the wall that lists his freshwater pearl name, age and injury. Sixty percent of his body is covered in burns.

One afternoon last week, Khalid walked out of a classroom straight into the fireball of an exploding suicide bomber.

"I saw a man wearing a sky-blue colored suit. Very close. Maybe the distance [was] two feet ... but I didn't think that it will be a terrorist," Khalid says. "When he pushed the button, right at that time, I saw fire. Very high fire. Very much high fire."

Watch Khalid describe the blast Video

Two suicide bombers were involved in freshwater pearl jewelry Tuesday's attack on Islamabad's International Islamic University. The first bomber hit the cafeteria on the women's side of the campus, killing a cafeteria worker and four students, and wounding 17 other female students.
Video: Face of Pakistan's victims
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Khalid and his classmates heard that blast but assumed it was a car tire bursting.

Moments later, the second bomber self-detonated in the hallway on the second floor of the Sharia law department, directly in front of the department chairman's office.

The blast sprayed the walls and ceiling with ball bearings and left two male students dead.

"I thought now I will go to Allah," Khalid says. "But after five minutes I saw that I'm completely -- all parts of my body is with me."

Though horrifically burned, Khalid pearl jewelry wholesale somehow survived the inferno and stumbled down the stairs.

Five days after the attack, workers were covering up the blood-stained, pock-marked walls at the Sharia law department with mortar and paint. In a few weeks, the building may look as good as new.

Khalid, meanwhile, is battling for his life.

"He's critical at the moment," says Serva Javed, a doctor at the burn center in Islamabad where Khalid is being treated. "We're trying our level best to save his life."

Before the attack, Khalid studied Arabic and English, and dreamed of becoming an interpreter or a teacher working overseas. He also was an active member of the United Students of Islam, a student association that publicly condemned the Taliban.

Pamela Dix, who lost her brother in the bombing, acknowledged that the criminal investigation falls under Scottish authorities but insisted that the British government also had a responsibility.

"While the UK government does not have responsibility for the criminal investigation, it does have responsibility for foreign affairs," Dix told CNN. "The aircraft took off from Heathrow airport, in England, and it pearl jewelry just happened to explode over Scottish grounds.

"The previous prime minister, Tony Blair, assured the relatives that he would leave 'no stone unturned' in the efforts to get to the bottom of what happened. Our current prime minister should take forward this commitment."

A spokeswoman for 10 Downing Street acknowledged receiving the letter and said there would be a response, but that "this happened on Scottish soil, thus it is up to the Scottish authorities to handle."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Sunday rejected claims that his government should get involved.

"This is rightly a matter for the pearl jewelry wholesale Scottish authorities," Miliband said. "We've always said that this was a terrible crime where justice must be done and every avenue pursued. The investigation was never formally closed and that's why it's wholly appropriate that if there are grounds for taking new steps, that they should be taken."

He went on to say that the case was investigated by the Scottish authorities: "It's right that they pursue the investigation on a criminal basis and if there's any suggestion of an inquiry that  should be a matter for the Scots, because that's the way our system works. But you can see from today's announcement that the commitment in Scotland remains real in wholesale pearl jewelry respect of justice in this case and that must be right."

Dix called Miliband's comments "entirely inappropriate" in attempting to shift responsibility away from his government.

Pamela Dix, who lost her brother in the bombing, acknowledged that the criminal investigation falls under Scottish authorities but insisted that the British government also had a responsibility.

"While the UK government does not pearl jewelry have responsibility for the criminal investigation, it does have responsibility for foreign affairs," Dix told CNN. "The aircraft took off from Heathrow airport, in England, and it just happened to explode over Scottish grounds.

"The previous prime minister, Tony Blair, assured the relatives that he would leave 'no stone unturned' in the efforts to get to the bottom of what happened. Our current prime minister should take forward this commitment."

A spokeswoman for 10 Downing Street acknowledged receiving the letter and said there would be a pearl jewelry wholesale response, but that "this happened on Scottish soil, thus it is up to the Scottish authorities to handle."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Sunday rejected claims that his government should get involved.

"This is rightly a matter for the Scottish authorities," Miliband said. "We've always said that this was a terrible crime where justice must be done and every avenue pursued. The investigation was never formally closed and that's why it's wholly appropriate that if there are grounds for taking new steps, that they should be taken."

He went on to say that the case was pearl necklace investigated by the Scottish authorities: "It's right that they pursue the investigation on a criminal basis and if there's any suggestion of an inquiry that should be a matter for the Scots, because that's the way our system works. But you can see from today's announcement that the commitment in Scotland remains real in respect of justice in this case and that must be right."

Dix called Miliband's comments "entirely inappropriate" in attempting to shift responsibility away from his government.

Scottish prosecutors are conducting a further review of the evidence related to the Lockerbie bombing, prosecutors have told families of victims from the United Kingdom.

In an excerpt from an e-mail from pearl jewelry wholesale Scottish Crown Prosecution Service to the victims' families, provided to CNN by one victim's family member, prosecutors say the investigation is still ongoing.

"Throughout the investigation we have, at various times, taken stock of the evidence as a whole with a view to identifying further lines of inquiry that can be pursued," the e-mail said. "Now that the appeal proceedings are at an end, a further review of the case is underway and several potential lines of inquiry, both through a 'desktop' (paper) exercise and consultation with forensic science colleagues are being considered."

It continued: "Please be assured that this is cultured pearl jewelry not simply paying lip service to the idea of an 'open' case."

The December 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed 270 people. One person, Abdelbaset al Megrahi, has been convicted for the bombing and was sentenced to life in prison.

In August, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill released him on compassionate grounds because he had been diagnosed with cancer. MacAskill had authority over al Megrahi because the bomber was serving his sentence in Scotland, which runs its own judicial system.

Al Megrahi, 57, currently is being treated in a hospital in Libya.

On Sunday, a group of victims' families pearl earrings launched a campaign to get the British government to open a public inquiry into the case. The group handed over a letter to 10 Downing Street, calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to look into the matter.

"The relatives believe that a public inquiry offers the last realistic hope of finding out how and why their loved ones perished," said a posting on the group's blog. "They are worried that without it their chances of learning the truth could end when Megrahi dies."