Gold ring initially has ace quality (4)
I believe the answer is:
aura
'quality' is the definition.
(aura is a kind of quality)
'gold ring initially has ace' is the wordplay.
'gold' becomes 'au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold**).
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
'has' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'ace' becomes 'a'.
The initial letter of 'ring' is 'r'.
'au'+'r'+'a'='AURA'
(Other definitions for aura that I've seen before include "Intangible quality surrounding a person or thing" , "Particular ambience" , "Distinctive quality around a person or place" , "distinctive impression" , "Distinctive atmosphere surrounding person or thing" .)