Plans to find layers with jewels (10)
I believe the answer is:
stratagems
'plans' is the definition.
(stratagem is a kind of plan)
'layers with jewels' is the wordplay.
'layers' becomes 'strata' (stratum is a kind of layer).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'jewels' becomes 'gems' ('gem' can be a synonym of 'jewel').
'strata'+'gems'='STRATAGEMS'
'to find' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for stratagems that I've seen before include "Plans" , "Manoeuvres" .)