The goldsmith Pierre Germain began his training under circumstances that remain unclear. In 1726, he apprenticed in the Paris workshop of the renowned goldsmith Thomas Germain, to whom he was not related. He then spent four years in Rome (1729–1733), earning the nickname “le Romain.”

Upon returning to Paris, he joined the workshop of Jacques Roëttiers, remaining there until 1736 and settling at the Place du Carrousel in his master’s house. He was already producing works independently. Thanks to the privilege of the Galeries du Louvre, which allowed late entry into apprenticeship, he was admitted as a supernumerary apprentice under Nicolas Besnier, Roëttiers’ father-in-law.

Pierre Germain was received as a master goldsmith on 4 May 1744, at the age of forty-one, and registered his maker’s mark. He continued to work closely with Roëttiers, and identical models, such as candlesticks and cruet stands, appear in both their outputs. He likely worked largely under Roëttiers’ name at first, using his own mark sparingly. Only from 1754 onward did he begin regularly registering his works at the Bureau de la Marque.