There is, but mostly on a purely sentimental level. The necklace was a gift to him from his boyfriend. Or possibly ex-boyfriend, I haven't quite decided yet. It's a long story and is tied to events in my second novel but, in brief, Michael's boyfriend is/was a fox named Richard who was the son of the story's primary antagonist, who had to pick between being loyal to his father or following his heart. Michael helped him to escape his father's influence, and Richard gave him the necklace in gratitude. There's considerably more to it than that, of course, but I don't want to spoil things too much.