Given that the Elven rings simply lost their own magical abilities, if the nine rings survived Sauron’s destruction, it’s likely that they similarly too were de-powered. What happened to the rings themselves after the nine became the Witch-King and his ringwraiths - Elrond assumes that they were re-acquired by Sauron by the time he forms the Fellowship in the final years of the Third Age, and when Sauron himself was destroyed with the destruction of the One Ring, the wraiths all dissipated.

But eventually the rings dominated the wills of their bearers, first inflicting them with visions of Sauron, before eventually draining their will until they were dominated by Sauron and transformed into wraiths - unperceivable spirits whose powers and existence became forever linked to Sauron’s own lifeforce, waxing and waning as the Dark Lord did. Initially, they granted their wielders great power: enhancing their strength, their ability to wield magic as powerful sorcerers, and extending their lives. The nine Rings of Men were arguably Sauron’s most effective. After Gil-Galad died at the foot of Mount Doom in the Battle of the Last Alliance in the Second Age’s climax, Vilya was inherited by Elrond of Rivendell, who wore the ring until he passed into the Undying Lands at the end of the Third Age. The most magically powerful of the three Elven rings, Vilya’s specific powers were unknown, beyond that Celebrimbor himself specified that all three rings had healing and preservative powers, unlike the other rings of power.

Lastly, Vilya, the ring of air, was gifted to Gil-Galad, the High King of the Ñoldor Elves. While never explicitly specified, the ring - described as gleaming like a star so bright that only other ringbearers could see its true nature - was said to have powers of protection that sustained the forests around Lothlórien, keeping as much of the forces of darkness out as possible.

Nenya, the ring of water, was gifted to Lady Galadriel, who bore it to safeguard the forests of Lórien from incursion. It’s fitting, then, that among its magical abilities were its powers to stave off the weariness of age, as well as inspire hope in people around the ringbearer - and perhaps even more fitting then that Círdan eventually gifted the ring to Gandalf, recognising that the wizard was actually one of the angelic Maiar, believing it better in his hands for the trials the world was about to face. Narya, the ring of fire, was gifted to Círdan, the lord of the Grey Havens, the port city that many Elves departed from Middle-earth to the Undying Lands. The three rings gifted to the Elves are the only rings we actually know of by specific names: Narya, Nenya, and Vilya.

The lord of the rings ring of power