South African priest to rent precious gemstone (8)
I believe the answer is:
sapphire
'gemstone' is the definition.
(I know that sapphire is a type of gemstone)
'south african priest to rent precious' is the wordplay.
'south african' becomes 'SA' (abbreviation).
'priest' becomes 'pp' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'rent precious' becomes 'hire' (rent can mean to hire something out. I am not sure about the 'precious' bit.).
'sa'+'pp'+'hire'='SAPPHIRE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sapphire that I've seen before include "Blue gemstone" , "Birthstone for September" , "A gem; I, perhaps (anag.)" , "Precious transparent stone of blue corundum" , "Bright blue" .)