In the world of Lord of the Rings, there are 20 rings of power. Although not all of these rings actually appear in the books, or in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations, they are referred to throughout various Tolkien texts, and revealed to the audience in the form of Galadriel’s prologue, in which she recites the poem of the rings, explaining the 9 for men, the 7 for dwarves, the 3 for elves, and the one for Sauron himself. These rings all met various fates, being swallowed by dragons, returning to Sauron along with their masters, or being kept safe by powerful beings in Middle Earth such as Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond.
But it is possible that there is another ring of power that no one realizes is in existence? It does seem odd that Gandalf, the grey wizard, should have come into possession of such a rare and powerful object instead of Saruman the white, who is the highest of the order of wizards, and so a few people have noticed and pointed out that Saruman may have taken it upon himself to create his own ring of power, and in doing so, brought himself to the attention and inevitable corruption of the dark lord, ultimately ensuring his own downfall.
These speculations come from the scene in which Gandalf rides to the tower of Orthanc to seek council with Saruman, and ask his advice about what to do with the one ring. As Saruman greets him at the door, Gandalf describes “he led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his finger.” Now, this seems like a small and insignificant observation, there are many rings in Middle Earth that are not rings of power, but the fact that Gandalf mentioned it specifically, and noticed it enough to point it out in the first place suggests that there is something far larger at play here. Perhaps Saruman does not usually wear such a ring, and this is the first sign that something is indeed terribly wrong with the white wizard.
This fear is very quickly confirmed as Saruman describes himself as “Saruman the wise, Saruman Ring-maker, Saruman of many colors!” Again, the fact that he declares himself ‘Ring-maker’ is deeply significant, because it reveals to the audience both that he has been dabbling in something that is forbidden, and also that he has been discovered by Sauron whilst doing it.
Calling himself ‘many colors’ is also really important because it demonstrates that he believes he has transcended the order of the maiar and risen above their power, and above their reprimand. He believes himself the next god, in essence, the next all-powerful being in the world because he has created his own ring, and as such, has become corrupted by its power and its temptation. Perhaps Sauron has even poured some of his will and his malice into this ring as he did the other rings of power, through the palantir, which Saruman has been using to keep in close contact with his new reverence.
Or perhaps, it is not a ring of power after all but is simply a clever ploy of Sauron’s to deceive Saruman, make him believe that he has this newfound untouchable strength when the true power has remained with the dark lord himself. He simply uses Saruman as a pawn, helping him study the ancient arts of ring-lore, letting him believe he has created something indestructible, and all the while using him to wipe out the heirs of Rohan and Gondor, to weaken the defenses of his enemies, and strengthen his borders in Mordor, all without actually lifting a finger himself. The alliance of the Two Towers is never truly an alliance at all, it is all geared in Sauron’s favor. They are never equals, as Sauron would never risk relinquishing the true secrets of the one ring, he does not share power.
The irony of it is, he is stringing Saruman along with the promise of a mighty ring of power of his own, in the same way, that Saruman strings Wormtongue along with the same offer of a reward in Eowyn, but Saruman is too blinded by his own greed to see the parallels. Saruman’s ring is symbolic of his complete corruption, his turning his back on the white council, his friends Gandalf and Galadriel, and of his abandonment of the mission the maiar were sent across from Valinor to achieve: protecting Middle Earth.
Instead, Saruman has chosen only to protect himself and his own desires, which works out very poorly for him indeed, because he is betrayed by both Sauron above him, and Wormtongue below him. The only reward that he reaps is a swift slash across the throat from his own servant’s blade.