The One Ring - Lord of the Rings Jewelry

About the Rings of Power:

The Elves received three Rings of Power - worn in the time of the The Lord of the Rings by Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf. These rings were crafted in the Second Age by Elven smiths under the direction of Sauron, though they did not know his plans for creating the One Ring to rule the others.

Once the Elves came to realize Sauron's evil intent, they warred with him (beginning in the Second Age Year 1693) and hid their Three Rings. This early war resulted more or less in a stalemate, and Elrond retreated to Imladris.

Over time, Sauron's power grew, the Ringwraiths appeared, and eventually (S.A. 3429) Sauron attacks Gondor. Men and elves join hands to defeat Sauron at the Battle of Dagorlad and besiege Barad-dûr. In S.A. 3441, Sauron is overthrown and Isildur takes the One Ring. The Second Age ends.

"Throughout the Third Age the guardianship of the Three Rings was known only to those who possessed them. But at the end it became known that they had been held at first by the three greatest of the Eldar: Gil-galad [who fell battling Sauron at the end of the Second Age], Galadriel and Círdan [Master of the Grey Havens, where the Elves take ship to leave Middle-earth]."

"The ring of Gil-galad was given by him to Elrond; but Círdan surrendered his to Mithrandir. For Círdan saw further and deeper than any other in Middle-earth, and he welcomed Mithrandir at the Grey Havens, knowing whence he came and whither he would return." - from Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings.

At the end of The Return of the King, when the great ones of Middle-earth prepare to depart across the Sea, there is no more need for secrecy and we read:

Vilya - "Elrond wore a mantle of grey and had a star upon his forehead, and a silver harp was in his hand, and upon his finger was a ring of gold with a great blue stone, Vilya, mightiest of the Three."

Nenya - "But Galadriel sat upon a white palfrey and was robed all in glimmering white, like clouds about the moon; for she herself seemed to shine with a soft light. On her finger was Nenya, the ring wrought of mithril, that bore a single white stone flickering like a frosty star."

Narya the Great - "As he turned and came towards them Frodo saw that it was Gandalf; and on his hand he wore the Third Ring, Narya the Great, and the stone upon it was red as fire." - from The Return of the King.