Paul de Lamerie arrived in London as a small child with his parents in or before 1689. His father was Paul Souchay de la Merie, a Huguenot officer in William III's army, who took out denization in 1703, when the family were living in Berwick Street, Soho, in the heart of the newly established Huguenot community of craftsmen specializing in the production of luxury goods. In that same year, the younger Paul was apprenticed to the Huguenot goldsmith Pierre Platel, without paying a premium, when his father was described as a gentleman. After being admitted to the Freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company in 1712, the guild which controlled the quality of silver production in London, Paul de Lamerie registered his first mark with the Company and set up a workshop in Windmill Street, Soho. A gradual expansion of his business culminated in his move in 1739 to considerably larger premises in Gerrard Street. De Lamerie had many wealthy and discerning clients, such as Sir Robert Walpole, first British prime minister, Baron Anson and the sixth earl of Mountrath, all these patrons are represented in the Gilbert Collection. De Lamerie was responsible for some of the most interesting and imaginative examples of English 18th century silver in the rococo style.

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. They assembled one of the largest groups of silver by Paul de Lamerie. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.