In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, Celebrimbor plays the crucial role of forging the Rings of Power, together with the Elves of Eregion and the help of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, who instructed the Elves in the methods of creating the Rings. After the Nine and the Seven were forged, Celebrimbor created three more rings in secret, which were the greatest and fairest of the Rings of Power: these were called the Three, the Rings of the Elves, and were wholly untouched by Annatar.
When Annatar finally revealed his true nature as the Dark Lord Sauron, and placed the One Ring on his finger, he claimed ownership over the other rings and their bearers. Celebrimbor and the Elves of Eregion removed their rings in defiance of Sauron, and refused to surrender them to him. In response, Sauron laid waste to Eregion. Capturing Celebrimbor, he forced him to disclose where the the Nine and the Seven were held, but no amount of torture would make Celebrimbor reveal the whereabouts of the Three to Sauron. In truth, the rings had already been sent away: Vilya and Narya were in the possession of Gil-galad at Lindon, and Nenya had been sent over the mountains to Lothlórien. Sauron captured the lesser Rings, and Celebrimbor later died in torment, the last direct descendant of the house of Fëanor.