Why didn't Saruman take Gandalf's Ring of Power? | Lord of the Rings Lore | Middle-Earth 

Do you guys agree with our assessment on why Saruman didn't take Gandalf's Elven Ring? And can you come up with any other possible reasons? As always subtitles are available and feedback is welcome!

What did Galadriel say to Frodo when he asked about her ring? “That’s Nenya business.”

Christopher Lee played Saruman so unbelievably well. I can't think of another actor that was as well-suited to the role as he was

Saruman was insecure enough to chide Gandalf for "his love of the halfling's leaf" while simultaneously using it himself.

I think that some small part of Saruman actually feared taking Narya "For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill." Nothing would undo his ambitions more thoroughly than the ring restoring his better nature.

Easy answer. Galadriel explains this when she is talking to Frodo in her garden when he offers her The One Ring. She says, that only someone in possession of a Ring of Power can see another Ring of Power. Something not stated in the book but which was heavily implied is that a ring cannot be taken, but only given or found. Not one ring of power was taken that was also later used. Several were taken by dragons and according to Gandalf were destroyed by the Dragons who took them, but none were ever used again.

Wow i didn't know saruman crafted his owne ring, that would be an interesting topic for his own video wouldn't it?

I'm pretty sure it was written in Tolkiens works, that at the point of Gandalfs defeat and capture by Saruman in Isengard, Saruman still was very unsure and conflicted about his decisions and his alliance with Sauron, but he was already so deep in it, that didn't have a way out. If i remember correctly it was written, that Saruman was about to go to Gandalf on top of Orthanc to ask him for forgiveness and help, but at that point Gandalf was already flying away on Gwaihir and Sarumans chance and potential change of heart was too late and gone, because at that point the White Council saw him as an enemy as well and he was on its own.

It is said by Gandalf in the Council of Elrond about 1 of the 7 rings: "The ring was taken by torture from Thrain..." Why Torture? Why not just take it? I think the rings of power protect themselves. Even Sauron could not just grab it from the hand of Thrain as long as he resisted. So, the feat of taking a ring of power from a bearer is not a simple thing. Isildur and even Gollum needed special circumstances to do so. Therefor I also think, that Saruman COULD NOT just simply take it from Gandalf, even if he knew about it.

Saruman, I find shares so many similarities with Count Dooku(up to and including being played by the late Sir Christopher Lee) that I feel the passage below could just as easily be written about Saruman as Dooku. His superiority complex is derived from secret insecurity and envy of those he subconsciously fears might be better than he is while also being impatient with the frustrations of trying to order the world conventionally. "Love, hate, joy, anger-even when he can feel the energy of these emotions in others, they translate in his perception to other kinds of feelings. The kinds that make sense. Jealousy he understands, and possessiveness: he is fierce when any being encroaches on what is rightfully his. Intolerance, at the intractability of the universe, and at the undisciplined lives of its inhabitants: this is his normal state. Spite is a recreation: he takes considerable pleasure from the suffering of his enemies. Pride is a virtue in an aristocrat, and indignation his inalienable right: when any dare to impugn his integrity, his honor, or his rightful place atop the natural hierarchy of authority. And moral outrage makes perfect sense to him: when the incorrigibly untidy affairs of ordinary beings refuse to conform to the plainly obvious structure of How Society Ought To Be. He is entirely incapable of caring what any given creature might feel for him. He cares only what that creature might do for him. Or to him."

Wait, Saruman made his own ring of power!? Oh please do a breakdown of that artifact.

I think firstly Saruman thought Gandalf would eventually surrender to him when he realized men are doomed and the only possible way to stop Sauron was to aid Saruman become the lord of the rings. We cannot forget Saruman thought his cause was just, in a ends justify the means sort of way. Thus it would serve him poorly to further antagonize Gandalf. Secondly, Saruman saw two possible end scenarios: become the lord of the rings, or serve Sauron, in neither case would having Gandalf’s ring benefited him. Thirdly, Saruman was a coward. If his plan would fail and the free people would be victorious. The treatment of Gandalf would be reflect on him. He spared Gandalf for not joining him, and hoped to be treated the same, as he was. Lastly, even Saruman was not without dignity. Stealing his fellow Istari’s personal belongs out of greed was below him.

Funny how the maiar serving Aule were very much like Aule himself. Saruman and sauron share a lot in common also

I think Saruman thought of Narya as a symbol approving his wisdom and power and therefore his position in the council. When a lesser Gandalf was given the ring instead, it became a reminder of the shame he felt, which gradually over the years calcified to his seething hatred for Gandalf. Gandalf was wise enough to see it, but I think he knew he needed it to carry on his duties.

Christopher Walkein: "So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide it: his [redacted]"

I think I have to reread the passages on how Saruman captured Gandalf. Because when I read the LoTR as a child, I only imagined Gandalf as trapped, not as defeated like in the movie. I always thought that there wasn't an actual physical confrontation and therefore Saruman was in no position to take away anything from Gandalf. He was content that he prevented Gandalf from leaving and that was enough for him at that moment.

It’s interesting that Gandalf had the ring of fire, because fire symbolizes rebirth. This explains why he was reborn with a white robe.

Assuming Saruman knew Gandalf had Narya, it’s lack of usefulness for attaining dominion seems the most likely reason for not wanting it. But if he wanted it, the only good reasons for not taking it are because it would require some level of risk and could be more easily done later, or because he could not. The former makes the most sense in light of Gandalf also still being left Glamdring and his staff, but the ability to conceal it certainly seems well founded. However, the one thing I think you left out which is also a possible factor is that if Gandalf kept Narya and Saruman gained the One Ring, Saruman would be able to gain immense influence over him, since the One was designed to control the weirdest of the others.

Thanks for delivering it quick

Christopher Lees's birthday May 27th, good timing !

I love the new voice, but I kinda miss the original one for it was the reason I subscribed to this channel

Agree; would not serve his purpose. As a Maiar, unlikely he would not perceive it. Also possible that, while Saruman was able to imprison Gandalf, vanquishing him altogether so he could actually seize the ring might be another thing altogether and beyond his power without the one.

Very simple, because the 3 elven rings are meant to conceal, preserve, heal and inspire. Not to grant the wielder greater power. Also, he couldn't see Narya, because the rings conceal themselves to all except the other 2 bearers of the Elven rings.

Your reasoning for your theory is impeccable. I doubt *Saruman* ever subscribed to the saying, _'He who dares, WINS!'_

Didn't the Elven rings have the ability to conceal themselves from all but the wearers of the other elven rings and Sauron wearing the one Rng?

You could almost say that Saruman represents knowledge and Gandalf represents wisdom

5:57 They might not contribute but why leave Gandalf in possession of something like that? He might not take it to wield himself but certainly, he would have taken it to deny its power to others. even to use to bargain with Sauron. I think the reason it stayed on Gandalfs finger was that it posed no immediate threat to him and Saruman probably didn't believe that Gandalf could have escaped. I honestly believe that he didn't take it because of an oversight on Tolkien's part.

I have a different take. It's possible that Gandalf didn't take his ring with him when he went on dangerous journeys. He was always out in the wild and poking into places like Mirkwood and Dol Guldur. It wouldn't be very wise to take his ring with him, so close to servants of Sauon. I imagine he left it in Rivendell when he went abroad. Furthermore, the keeper of a ring didn't need to carry it with him to use its power. The Nazgul's rings were held by Sauron, but the Black Riders still had the power and unnaturally long lives that their rings conveyed.

at 2:50, that is one of the most mesmerizing images of Galadriel I've ever seen. Nice job!! The cost of trying to take the ring would never be recovered. As you said.

Another thing to consider is from something Gandalf said to Frodo in the chapter, 'The Shadow of the Past' to explain why he couldn't forcefully take the ring from Bilbo. That doing so wasn't just 'wrong' but also potentially damaging to the ring bearer in question ('breaking' I believe was the phrasing). If Saruman still saw Gandalf as being useful in whatever plans he had, taking the ring might have been considered counterproductive to his efforts.

My first thought after reading the title was, "Prison wallet?" followed quickly by, "Maybe he swallowed it during the duel."

Seems like he would likely take it just to insult Gandalf if he could. If he was secretly insecure of Gandalf however, he might’ve thought that if pushed Gandalf to it he couldn’t take the ring. Gandalf might not have been able to defeat Saruman when acting solely to defend himself - but if pushed to give Saruman a tool that would aid in his evil perhaps Gandalf would’ve had no choice but to unleash full effort against him? Also it makes total sense he would avoid anything that would risk revealing his mind to Sauron. That is reason enough.

I thought the elven rings were imune to Sauron's manipulation since they were never ever touched by Sauron himself

Having "Times change" play in the background seems oddly fitting for this video, good choice!

I always figured Saruman wanted Gandalf to escape, other wise he could of imprisoned him far better under ground or at least in a locked cage etc. This served two goals, first off as Gandalf escaped he would spread word of Saruman's betrayal, selling his loyalty to Sauron better as the information got back to his spies. But it would also let him follow Gandalf as his best lead to where the one ring might be. Plus give Sauron something else to worry about, a real threat he would focus on.

From my still limited research, Saruman's ring seems to have been largely useless, at best a lesser magic ring, not a true Ring of Power.

Great GREAT video, best LOTR content on YT

There seems to be some differences of opinion as to what constitutes canon. In my definition, and I emphasize that this is only my opinion, canon is the three volumes, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion. The Unfinished Tales and The Lost Worlds are just that: unfinished and incomplete. I see them as notebooks to which the Professor referred as he crafted the volumes I listed above. Christopher Tolkien himself warned us, in the foreword to The Silmarillion, that an internal consistency between tales was not possible and should not be sought for. It is for that reason that I have established the boundaries (for myself) of canon as the five volumes listed above. Anything outside of that is interesting speculation, but not at all binding. Your mileage may vary.

Two things go with power: The need to be built up.... The need to hold others down... Saruman wouldn't want Gandalf's ring.... Once HE possessed the ONE RING.. He would rule over Gandalf and Gandalf's ring would bind him to Saruman. If Saruman had researched the evidence, he knew would be able to bind all those that had rings and then force them under his rule.

Saruman did not take Gandalf's ring because, when the three rings were worn, they went into the realm of the invisible, and I believe that only the bearer could give them.

"And Sauron would finally see how his ally had planned to betray him all along." "I'm shocked, shocked to find gambling going on in here!"

I was wondering why there was no 4rth ring of power because the elements are 4: Narya - ring of Fire (empowerment) Nenya - ring of Water (protection) Vilya - ring of Air (healing) - ring of Earth

Whenever they read out the patrions at the end it kind of reminds me on Dumbledore reading out the name of the honourables of the respective houses. Like it a lot :)

Thanks! These are some valuable insights that I'm sure will help me in the future!

he didnt completely subdue gandalf he just floated him up to the top of the tower. he might have been afraid to get that close until he was much weaker from exposure.

When the great Rings are discussed in the Council of Elrond, Gandalf says that Sauron knew Gollum's Ring was not one of the Three, "for they have never been lost, and they endure no evil." Even had Saruman known Gandalf had Narya, he would also have known he could not claim it and use it for evil purposes. The only way Sauron could dominate the Three was by placing the greater part of his native strength into the One Ring, and Saruman lacked both the knowledge and the power to match such a feat.

One of the best videos I’ve ever watched. Thank u so much for this ❤

A well thought out approach to dealing with conflicting unpublished works (e.g. unfinished tales with Silmarillion)

My take was always that any ring save one of his own creation was bound to bend its will to the One ring. In his bid to become Sauron’s equal, he forged his own ring unbound to the One and without the “weakness” of the other rings. He felt his own creation was simply superior.

An interesting topic. Some thoughts 1- What makes Gandalf speciall is that he was the one istari to be true to their task. Radagast became lost in his own thoughts and Saruman decided to go beyond the original task and opted to use dangerous methods. 2- Same say saruman and sauron became allies. perhaps that was just a different tactic to bring down the dark lord? 3- Saruman and Sauron share same similarities. They are both maiar with a connection to Aule. Creating things is part of them. At the same time, they are not the same. It is easy to say that should anyone, saruman in this case, get control of the One Ring they would replace sauron as the new dark lord. But that doesnt mean they would act the same as sauron. I associate Saruman with knowledge and sauron with Power, darkness and violance. Saruman had perhaps begun to be afected by darkness but only slightly. He, like galadriel in the movies, still saw themselves as being the the right. Saruman didnt became immediately tainted by dark, rather he became the mutlticolored, meaning he now saw other paths to walk. 4- Saruman only resorted to violance in the end, when in league with Sauron, and probably at his request. His own methods were different. He prized knowledge and had a network of spies to gather information. he valued conecting to the right people and the influence he could subtely have over them. Sauron´s symbolm was the eye, an oppresive symbol. Saruman was know for the power of his voice( the hand symbol can both represent him being the hand of sauron aka his servant/ slave or have a personal meaning of "maker of things with his hand, noding at the ring, among other things. 5- i believe Saruman wanted Gandalf´s help. Maiar should stay together, as long as Mithrandir saw " reason" and submited to himself. Together, united, they could represent a much stronger menace to Sauron, when the time was right. 6- Did he know about Gandalf´s ring of power? we dont know for sure but i would not understimate Saruman´s ways of discovering things, even if only by watching the elven lord´s and gandalf´s action through the centuries. 7- would the elven rings be useful for saruman? yes. he collected knowledge and artifacts like the 3 would be big prizes for him. until he had the one ring he could study them and perhaps even use them, as long as sauron didnt have the one ring himself. alternatively he could simply keep the ring to used after he defeated Sauron. 8- people say the elven rings could only be used to preserve things, but was it really so? what does that even mean? the same way saruman hoped to achieve dominion over the one ring, once he had it, he might as well achieve dominion over the Three. The rings of Power enhanced the power of the spirit of their owner. even if the Three could only be used to preserve, saruman could, in his own idea, use them to preserve his newfound realm. 9- Mysteries are great. Saruman made a ring of power. But was it really one? was it at the same level as the great rings ( the THREE AND THE ONE? ) or only a prototype? how did he get the knowlege? reserach, guessing and trial and error? did Sauron taught him things? What as Saruman´s ring capable of and did we ever saw it used? i would not discard the option that the only thing that making the ring did for Saruman was to increase is ambition and hubris, leading to his fall. thoughts?

If Sauron were to get the 1 ring back, he may have been able to see the 3 elven rings, but I don't think he could control them. He never touched the 3 rings as the elven smithy, Celebrimbor, waited & made the rings whilst Sauron was not about

There is a very simple answer: the Three Rings "endure no evil" (Fellowship of the Ring p. 68). Doubtless Saruman thought that Gandalf could be manipulated into using the Ring for his benefit.

Ok so he didn't think Gandalf's ring would be useful to him. It was certainly useful to Gandalf. If not for his own power then why not take it to weaken Gandalf? And wouldn't it be useful in his dealings with Sauron? Again if not to use it surely to ingratiate himself with the dark lord. Perhaps he knew that Gandalf possessed one of the elven rings but he wasn't aware that he was carrying it with him. Other than that I agree that it's likely he didn't want to anger Gandalf and he simply had no chance to take the ring off of him before he was rescued.

I agree that Saruman left Gandalf the ring as well his staff and sword because Saruman still wanted some kind of alliance with Gandalf. It's an explanation that is simple and fits the facts. If Gandalf hadn't escaped and had continued refusing to cooperate with Saruman then at some point Saruman would have taken them.

I honestly want to watch a movie on these background stories. I want to see when everything was heavily infused with magic

I think your arguments are strong: especially the last ones noting that he didn't take Glamdring and that he would have been exposed to Sauron if he got his hands on the One ring. (Although... if that happened, all his plans would have failed anyway.)

Thank you so much. I’ve thought the same views on these matters for a long time but never found anyone who’s ever made a vid or discussion on it. Especially sarumans lesser ring that he crafted. No one mentions it.

2:03 I like this depiction of Saruman. Looks like he’s waiting his turn at the dentist’s office

The one ring may bestow invisiblity on the wear's body. But the eleven rings hide themselves from other observers, except the one ring.

6:11 Saruman ... wielder of the Fleshlight of Earendil ...

Another great one, love learning from your videos.

Now I like to think that Saruman, who greatly cared for what Gandalf thought, could not bear the idea that he would look at Saruman with contempt, if he'd reveal himself to be a petty thiev. After all, Saruman could not even admit to Gandalf that he acquired a taste for pipeweed 🌿🍁🍃

Hmmm, good question! Yes, I think you did a great job of explaining why Saruman did not try to take the ring.

Do we know why Gandalf was ignorant to Saruman's corruption early on? He's never usually naive

Aren't the elven rings only perceivable to the one who wears it?

I believe your assessment satisfactory and enlightening. And just plain fun to hear about!

Sauron did collaborate with and tutor the elves, but he didn't actually participate in the forging of those 3 rings - that was solely the elves. So he didn't actually have any control over those rings like he did the human and dwarven rings.

I literally met someone with Saruman's personality at work. He was a nightmare and I perceived immediately he had mental problems. But his self-righteous persecutions of me came to a quick end since he blew out and got fired from a drug OD at work. I pity the man but I'm glad it's over.

wow, you totally missed the point. Allowing Gandolf to keep the ring of fire, Saruman would then control Gandolf once he acquired the one ring. (Ironically you pointed out this aspect but weirdly applied it to Saruman not wanting to be controlled by Sauron)

Why assume "Unfinished Tales" is cannonical? Tolkien changed his mind about his stories a lot. It's easier to reason that Saruman never knew Galdalf held the Ring of Fire. What's a better question is: why didn't Frodo see it? If he could see Galadriel's ring, why not Gandalf's? DId Bilbo see it either? Also, when did Saruman take the Star of Elendil? I thought Elrond kept it in Rivendell, and his sons brought it to Aragorn (along with the banner of the White Tree) when the Rangers came to him. Didn't Aragorn wear the Star during the Battle of Pelennor Fields?

I think the last argument about Sauron's power to control the bearers of the rings with the one ring is by far the strongest and most plausible. Well done, but I am also hoping you are still going to do the video about the entwives

Can you please link the music for this video? It's absolutely incredible! Great video, as always!

So the Elves were always worried about Sauron corrupting their rings should he ever get hold of them, could not Saruman perhaps do the same? Corrupt the powers and purpose of the Elven rings?

Did he have the ring at that point though? I always though Círdan only gave it to him when he returned from the west after being sent back by Illuvatar to aid in the fight against Sauron.

As you mentioned, the One Ring had control over all others. What better way for Saruman to prove his believed superiority by seeking something greater than Gandalf already had? A confirmation, of sorts, that Saruman was, is, and would forever be better than his counterpart

I think an argument could be made that the root of Sarumons envy of Gandalf could be Gandalfs patron being the Queen of the Valar

Even if he didn’t want to use Narya for himself, wouldn’t depriving the Free Peoples of such a valuable artifact (which served to inspire courage in others, i.e. Saruman’s enemies) serve his own goals of finding the One Ring?

Comments covered that Rings of Power can't be simply stolen, but also I don't think Sauron could control the Three, their power still depended on the existence of the One but Celebrimbor forged the Three behind Sauron's back and Sauron had very limited power over them.

There's another point to consider, at the time Gandalf was held captive neither Galadriel nor Elrond knew that Saruman had turned to Sauron's side.. He was still concealing this, and presumably, would have continued to conceal this until necessary to reveal it.. Gandalf's escape prompted him to stop concealing his intentions as he knew the jig was up, so to speak.. If he had taken the elven ring from Gandalf both would have instantly been aware that he had the ring, preemptively revealing what he was trying to conceal.. So long as Gandalf lived and held the ring he could continue his subterfuge, and he obviously never counted on Gandalf to escape.. He knew the ring's powers would not aid Gandalf in an escape attempt, so there was little risk in allowing him to hold it while imprisoned... We know that the elven rings are linked as Galadriel knew Gandalf yet lived when everyone else had assumed he died to the balrog and she sent forth the eagles to locate him, she gave him his white robes, and staff after he was found...

were the elven rings subject to the one ring's will like the rest of the magic rings? I thought they weren't as they were made by the elves themselves

Great job on this topic. I'm going to have to agree with some people on the narration though...it is okay but I loved Karl's voice!👍

This is an awesome question.. He had to know Gandalf had it. He knew Elrond and Galadriel had the others.

I could be totally wrong on this. Pretty sure that Sauron couldn't control the 3 Elven rings though, as they were crafted by Celebrimbor in secret and outside of Sauron's influence.

I loved the BFME2 background music

I'm pretty sure only Cirdan, Elrond and Galadriel knew about the ring AT THAT TIME, Saruman figured it out later.

Saruman sought the one, and thereby would control the three. He forged his own ring, but we don't get a lot on that from the books other than a quick mention. That was the one thing that hit me hardest though. It was obviously a lessor ring, and not on the order of the one, but perhaps the three. He was a Maiar of Aule. He knew the craft, but only went so far, perhaps because he did not have the fires of Mt. Doom at his disposal. If he acquired the one, he need not spend his spirit in such a way at any rate. He would simply control the one, and gladly even reforge it at Mt. Doom after his victory. He had that power, and Sauron would have become his bound shadow slave. If Saruman had succeeded he would have been able to rival even a Vala. So in my opinion, that makes him the greatest threat to Middle Earth, well beyond Sauron.

I suspect that it was for two if the reasons you stated. The ring didn't help him achieve his goals. And he feared what would come to light if he had it and didn't get the one ring first.

Ok can we talk about good old Sharkey!? That was the best twist ending ever!!!! "If one drop of my blood were to smote the shire..."

I don’t know that if Sauron got the ring first that he would have even killed Sauramon. Keep in mind that they are both well aware of each other being Maiar and that a death of the psychical body was not death for their souls or beings. If Sauron had the ring, he could inflict all manor or torture and punishment on Sauramon for all of eternity. If I were the dark lord, the price for betrayal would not be so light as death. Especially for a Maiar.

All of this made sense. The thing that never made sense to me is how Aule had the worst instincts save his love for Aru.

I was under the impression that only the three Elves knowing Gandalf had the ring meant they told no one. Because ofc, Gandalf knew he had the ring too. So telling the reader only the Elves knew is no different than any other book/play/film, where the audience isn't told the rest till later. So again, I got the impression Saruman knew, and possibly others knew, who simply discovered it for themselves. Saruman spent a *lot* of time spying on Gandalf and many others with the Palantír.

Actually I do agree I think everything you say is very sound and makes complete sense. And it would make very much sense for him to make his own ring because it would not be bound in any way shape or form to the one ring because the one ring was made last of the 20 rings made so sauron put his intentions into the one ring to rule the 19 this would not have included saruman's ring which would be completely free from the one ring..... So there would be no risk in him having his own ring of power made by himself and since he was a Maier of Aule he had equal skill as did Sauron... Yet he was diminished because of being in his fleshly man form.....

The whole section about Saruman gambling to get to the first to betray Sauron is kind of a moot point no? It's exactly that sort of thing Sauron is counting on in his "allies" because he knows the ring will completely corrupt him anyway. It's a win-win situation for Sauron, he either gets to the ring first and is too powerful or he let's it corrupt Saruman and has another powerful wraith. This is why both Gandalf and Galadriel feel they passed a test in the presence of the ring, they knew it would corrupt and dominate them.

Saruman's own ring of power didn't help in repelling the Ents' attack on Orthanc. What happened there? Where was Saruman's power ?

Or, maybe, Gandalf's ring just didn't fit and Saruman, in his effort to create an army to defeat Rohan, never had time to hire a good jeweler to resize it. Sorry, good video, thanks.

Just happened upon this channel and am very impressed with the information and content produced by whom I presume to be a fellow Maltese person :P Keep up the great work and hope you're managing with your studies!

I also think Maiar were forbidden also to harm each other. They weren’t supposed to fight one another using great amounts of power. Saruman detained Gandalf at orthanc, but unlike Peter Jackson adding an epic staff battle between them, that didn’t happen in the books. As the head of the order, saruman apparently had the power to detain Gandalf, but we were never told how it was done. But it was not an outright power attack, that was utterly forbidden by the valar.

Hmm. I just had an idea, a far fetched one, but just hear me out. We know that the Ring of Water and the Ring of Air (sorry I can't recall the names) preserved Rivendell and Lothlorien in time... and we know that the Shire was somewhat unnoticed or untouched by the outside world. Almost, unchanging... WHAT IF Gandalf's visits throughout the years helped to preserve the SHIRE? Not like the elven lands because he wasn't constantly there, BUT what if the Ring of Fire had some residual effect on the land and perhaps that was a way for Gandalf to indirectly protect the Shire. Hence his constant returns and visitations. This obviously would not be a canonical view as Tolkien did not address it and gave a reason for Gandalf's visits, but perhaps the Ring of Fire still had an affect without him knowing? Just a thought. God bless.

My understanding is that as the world's magic has "cooled" from the days when Vala and Maia openly walked Middle Earth. As that magic has disappeared, the Elves were to have diminished. The Three Rings are magical "hotspots" that have allowed the Elves to sustain their power and arts beyond the days where they would have long since faded. I think you are right, Sauron had his own power, and the power to sustain the art of the Elves simply had not a whole lot of use to him.

re - 7:30 I believe GeekZone meant to say that "Gandalf's sword once belonged to the King of Gondolin," and not "... the King of Gondor." It would seem to me that Saruman didn't take Gandalf's ring for the same reasons that Galadriel tells Frodo that his coming is as the footsteps of doom. By that, I mean: Saruman would have known a LOT about the rings of power. Gandalf says as much. He would have known that with the Ruling Ring having been found, that there's no point in owning one of the Elven Rings, since they are subordinate to the Ruling Ring. To put it another way, as long as it was believed and as long as it appeared that the Ruling Ring would never be found, then the Elven rings would seem useful to Saruman, since they could not be dominated by a Ruling Ring that was lost. However, as soon as it became apparent that the Ruling Ring had been found, Saruman would have cared much less about possessing one of the Elven Rings. He would have felt that they would be useless, because if someone else found the Ruling Ring, then all he accomplished with the Elven Rings would have been subject to the power of the Ruling Ring. Similarly, they would be useless to him because if it was he who found the Ruling Ring, then any Elven Rings he possessed would pale in comparison to the Ruling Ring. So, again, as soon as it became known that the Ruling Ring had been found, I'm convinced that Saruman would have lost any interest in pursuing any of the Elven Rings.