£1,200 bauble is top of the tree

It is almost that time of year when the baubles, tinsel and home-made fairy are brought down from the attic.

Most of us will hang a motley collection of decorations on our Christmas trees.

But at a shop in Pimlico, the options are far more extravagant for the well-heeled shopper looking for top Christmas tree bragging rights.

The shop, Antiquus, has items that could be worth more than all the presents underneath the tree.

Its top bauble is a rock crystal ball from the Himalayas costing £1,200. An amethyst ball will set you back £400 and dangling blood-red coral branches "from a sustainable source" are £450 each.

Proprietor Elizabeth Amati says they are an echo of a tradition that far pre-dates Victorian Christmas trees.

She said: "There has always been this slightly superstitious thing of hanging objects from trees going back to antiquity. You even see it in the legend of the Golden Fleece."

Mrs Amati expects to sell a handful to wealthy people with a keen interest.