This explains why the three Elven Rings would have been able to be used while Sauron was regaining his strength. He had been defeated before but since the One Ring still existed he was only temporarily defeated.

It is possible that therefore, Sauron, sneaky as he is, snuck in a condition that the Rings created would only be powerful as long as he was. Firstly, while Sauron was still disguised as Annatar, he taught Celebrimbor and the Elven smiths how to make the Rings of Power. Yet why is this, if Sauron never played a role in their creation? Well, there are two possible explanations. Their bearers all went to the Undying Lands eventually. Each of the Elven Rings has its abilities, which faded with the destruction of the One Ring. During the events of Lord of the Rings, Gandalf possesses the Ring of Fire, Galadriel possesses the Ring of Water, and Elrond possesses the Ring of Air. The three rings are Narya, the Ring of Fire, Nenya, the Ring of Water or Ring of Adamant, and Vilya, the Ring of Air. At the time of the events of Lord of the Rings, Galadriel still possesses her Ring but the others are kept by Elrond and Gandalf. The Rings were then given to Gil-galad, Cirdan, and Galadriel. The Elven rings were made last, without Sauron's help, by Celebrimbor. He was able to find the nine that he gave to Men and the seven that he gave to the Dwarves, but was unable to find the three Elven rings. He waged war against them to get the Rings of Power back. Sauron –who at that time was pretending to be Annatar, Lord of Gifts– was angry with the Elves.

RELATED: This Is The Best Moment In The Entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy The elves, however, were too intelligent and once they sensed that Sauron had created the One Ring, took their Rings of Power off. Sauron, of course, intended to use the One Ring to control the bearers of all the other Rings of Power. To understand the answer to this question, it is crucial to know how the Rings of Power were created as well as their purposes. So why did their power fade after the destruction of the One Ring if Sauron played no role in their creation? Sauron played a role in the creation of the nine Rings given to men and the seven Rings given to the Dwarves, but not the three possessed by the Elves. Nine were given to the men who became Sauron's Nazgül. Though much of the story is focused on the quest to destroy the One Ring, there are other Rings that other beings possess.

There are actually many Rings of Power in the Lord of the Rings series.

War of the elves and sauron