What is the mean in having "something" beyond the party?

In Book Two of "1984" we briskly begin to learn more about Winston's feeling towards Julia as well as how hard it can be to actually have "something" for yourself under Ingsoc's rule. One important thing is that they both are able to obtain a room for themselves above Mr.Charrington's store where they can hold their affair. Here they are free from the oppression of Ingsoc and can freely express themselves like when Julia says "In this room I'm going to be a woman, not a Party comrade"(Page 142 Orwell). Another example of their freedom is that the room is located in the slums of London and happens to lack a telescreen and microphone to monitor their activities.

When in Mr.Charrington's room Winston and Julia also talk about the piece of coral in the glass "That's what I like about it. It's a little chunk of history that they've forgotten to alter. It's a message from a hundred years ago, if one knew how to read it." (Page 145 Orwell). The significance of the piece is that its sheer simplicity and exotic nature helps make it something more than just a simple thing he bought in a shop to being a relic that had once made a smudge somewhere in history that hasn't yet been erased by Ingsoc and Big Brother.