It may provide a smoke ring that's unequalled (8)

'it may provide a smoke ring that's unequalled' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'it may provide a smoke ring' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is present in the answer.
'a' could be 'per' (eg 'one a day' means 'one per day') and 'per' is found in the answer.
'ring' could be 'o' (letter resembling a ring) and 'o' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?