When it comes to sales like these I always have mixed feelings.

This one of its kind (meaning it is the only known of survivor) chain of office from the time of Henry VIII is being put up for auction according to a BBC news item. Henry had given the gold Coleridge Collar to one of his closest advisers, Sir Edward Montagu, around the year 1546.

The auction of this item is part of Christie's Important European Furniture, Sculpture and Tapestries sale, and the director had this to say about the Tudor chain:

"The Coleridge Collar is an extraordinary and fascinating piece of history, both as a work of art, and also as a rare Tudor relic.

"An extremely rare example of early English goldsmith-work, the collar also represents the only known, complete, surviving collar of office from the time of Henry VIII, one of the most renowned of European monarchs."

Why I have mixed feelings on this is because of its historic importance, and extreme rarity it really should be in a museum, and not in private hands in my opinion. I would be lying of course if I said I would not love to at least try it on.