Topaze was one of six Émeraude-class submarines built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the first decade of the 20th century.

The Émeraude class were built as part of the French Navy's 1903 building program to a Maugas single-hull design.

[2] For surface running, the boats were powered by two Sautter-Harlé 300-metric-horsepower (296 bhp; 221 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft.

The Émeraude class had a surface endurance of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) and a submerged endurance of 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).

[1] Topaz was laid down in October 1903[5] at the Arsenal de Toulon, launched on 2 July 1908 and commissioned on 10 December 1910.