Gems in a ring belonging to a friend (5)
I believe the answer is:
opals
'gems' is the definition.
(opal is a kind of gem)
'ring belonging to a friend' is the wordplay.
'ring' becomes 'O' (letter resembling a ring).
'belonging' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'to a' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal can mean a friend).
's' put after 'pal' is 'pals'.
'o'+'pals'='OPALS'
'in a' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for opals that I've seen before include "jewellery" , "Translucent gemstones" , "jewels" , "Iridescent gems" , "Milky sparkling gemstones" .)