From about 1745 enamelling dominated the decoration of Paris boxes. The enamelling was executed straight onto the gold faces of the box. The boxes ceased to have the curving shapes popular in the 1730s and became rectangular with straight sides. Each face was seen as a complete canvas for the composition.

At first floral sprays, animals and birds were the most popular subjects. In the 1750s, pictorial scenes show domestic life, sometimes, in the style of popular painters. The enamels on the surface were signed by Le Sueur, an artist whose identity is as yet unknown. The scene on the back, of a boy and his dog is taken from an engraving by Gilles Demarteau of a painting by François Boucher Le petit joueur de flûte et son chien.

Jean Frémin became a master goldsmith in 1738. By 1779, he had become the prime warden of the goldsmith's guild. His success in the profession is demonstrated by an inventory taken after his death in 1786, showing a comfortably furnished apartment with a chest containing silver cups and flatware and his employment of a family of three servants.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world’s great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.