[1] The Topaze was developed by several French companies, notably Nord Aviation and Sud Aviation,[2] and built by SEREB (a joint venture of Nord and Sud, now known as Aérospatiale) and was the first guidable French sounding rocket.

: gemstones) program, that included five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis and Saphir,[3] leading up to the Diamant orbital rocket.

The name indicates that it is a "Véhicule Expérimental" (Experimental Vehicle) with 1 stage, using solid propulsion (code 1), and guided (code 1).

The Topaze was launched 14 times from the CIEES launch site in Hammaguir (Hammaguira Bacchus pad), Algeria, by ONERA.

There were three versions of the Topaze:[4][1]There were launches between 1962 and 1964, reaching an apogee of 80 km (49 mi).