Rings of Power - The One

Unlike the other Rings of Power, The One was unadorned. It bore only the inscription of the incantation Sauron spoke when he made it, and even that was invisible unless the ring was heated. Though the other rings could be destroyed in dragon-fire, The One Ring could be unmade only in the unyielding fires of Mount Doom where it was forged.

When Sauron made the ring, he was obliged to transfer much of his power into it so that it could control the other rings, themselves objects of great potency. With the ring, Sauron remained very powerful, and he could use it to dominate the will of others; he very quickly corrupted Númenor into the worship of Melkor and open rebellion against the Valar. When Isildur cut the ring from his hand, Sauron became much weaker. He required the ring to effect his conquest of Middle-earth, and spent most of the Third Age attempting to get it back. The ring had a great effect on the human bearers who held it in the interim. It granted them indefinite life; though the effort of living became more difficult as time went on, for it did not grant new life. If they wore it, it made them invisible, enhanced their hearing, and made the shadowy world of the wraiths visible to them. It exerted a malicious influence; Gandalf mentions that though a bearer might begin with good intentions, the good intentions would not last. The Ring would give its bearer a fraction of Sauron's power, proportionate with the bearer's strength and force of will. Gollum, Bilbo, Sam, and Frodo only became invisible, although when Frodo bound Gollum to his service in The Two Towers he indicated that he could use the Ring to control Gollum (because the Ring had mastered Gollum long ago). Gandalf and Galadriel, however, recognized that they could use the full power of the Ring, becoming even more powerful than Sauron himself, but they resisted, knowing that in the end the Ring would corrupt them. Gandalf explained to Frodo that, with great concentration and training, even he could tap into the Ring's power, but probably at the cost of his sanity.

The One Ring possessed something of a will of its own. Its only accepted master was Sauron himself, and it would seek to leave any other bearer when it would cause the greatest harm, or when it might return to Sauron. Bilbo warned Frodo of this, and Frodo kept it on a chain so that it would not slip off unnoticed. In the end, Gollum succumbs to the malevolent influence of the ring and defies Frodo to take the ring for himself – and in so doing, Gollum falls into the Cracks of Doom in Orodruin where the ring is destroyed. With the destruction of the Ring, Gandalf explains that Sauron is weakened to the point that he will never be able to materialize again.

See where the other "Rings of Power" are located.

                                                                       Rings of Power - The One

Rings of Power - The Nine 8FM        Rings of Power - The Seven AF7        Rings of Power - The Three - Narya
Rings of Power - The Nine CA5        Rings of Power - The Seven NAP        Rings of Power - The Three - Nenya
Rings of Power - The Nine EBP        Rings of Power - The Seven Z9Z         Rings of Power - The Three - Vilya
Rings of Power - The Nine NWB       Rings of Power - The Seven T78
Rings of Power - The Nine Q4A        Rings of Power - The Seven VNG
Rings of Power - The Nine RT1         Rings of Power - The Seven WEV
Rings of Power - The Nine TCY         Rings of Power - The Seven Y3E
Rings of Power - The Nine V2G
Rings of Power - The Nine ZBR

The Rings of Power are magical rings created by Sauron or by the Elves of Eregion under Sauron's tutelage. Three were intended for the Elves, Seven for Dwarves, Nine for Men, and one, The One Ring, was created by the Dark Lord Sauron himself in Mount Doom.

Sauron intended the rings to subvert these races of Middle-earth to his power, since The One Ring was the Ruling Ring that controlled the others. Sauron's plan was not completely successful, for the Elves hid their rings and did not use them while Sauron held The One, and the Dwarves' rings did not respond to The One's control as Sauron expected. But the nine mortal men who wore the Nine became the Nazgûl, Sauron's most dreaded weapons.