Dabbler, pal, invested in gold rings, initially (7)
I believe the answer is:
amateur
'dabbler' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'pal invested in gold rings initially' is the wordplay.
'pal' becomes 'mate' (I've seen this in other clues).
'invested in' is an insertion indicator.
'gold' becomes 'au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold).
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'rings' is 'r'.
'mate' inserted into 'au' is 'amateu'.
'amateu'+'r'='AMATEUR'
(Other definitions for amateur that I've seen before include "A non-professional sportsman" , "Person who does something as a pastime rather than a profession" , "One is not professional" , "Athlete who performs without payment" , "Unpaid performer" .)