In the middle, putting very cheap item of jewellery (8)

I believe the answer is:

centring

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'in the middle putting very cheap' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'item of jewellery' is the wordplay.
'item of' becomes 'cent' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'jewellery' becomes 'ring' (ring is a kind of jewellery).
'cent'+'ring'='CENTRING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for centring that I've seen is " Getting to the heart of".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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