[Mänwe]

My take on the matter is in agreement with the majority of the comments made. You are agreed that his ring was one not nearly as potent as the Ruling Ring, it was in all intent and purposes a disaster.

It is clear that he made it because he had the skill with which to do so, you have all said he was Mair of Aule;

"...but Curunír went most among Men, and he was subtle in speech and skilled in all the devices of smith-craft." -

"But Saruman now began to study the lore of the Rings of Power, their making and their history." - Silmarillion, Of the Rings Of Power

However it becomes clear that his studying of the art is something that he did not gain to a great proficiency. Otherwise had he learnt the secrets that Sauron had learnt and used in the forging of the Ruling Ring, then he would have had no need to have searched for it. Thus I think it is likely his ring was an experimentation, the pinnacle of his skill for his time was ever devoted to the search of the One.

'Sauman uses the term Ring-maker and Gandalf tells us that Saruman had a ring on his finger- but the logic chain connecting the two is tenuous indeed.

There is absolutely no overwhelming objective evidence to show that Gandalf's comment and Saruman's statement are in any way aligned.

The term Ring-maker is one of the names of Sauron, and the significance of Saruman using that term is that in his pride and folly he is setting himself up to rival the Dark Lord- and seeking to impress/intimidate Gandalf in doing so. (Gandalf is already aware of this name as one for Sauron -cf. FOTR-The Shadow of the Past).

If Saruman had been referring to himself as one who has made a ring he would have said 'ring-maker' - uncapitalized. The capitalized version 'Ring-maker' is one of Sauron's names - and Saruman would be well aware of this.

Moreover, we know from HOME 7 The Treason of Isengard , that Tolkien had removed a reference that might have inclined the reader towards thinking that Saruman had created a ring, and included the term Ring-maker only in the published version. It does not appear in earlier drafts.

An examination of the relevant drafts of the Council of Elrond shows the following:

The Council of Elrond(1) 'He wore a ring on his finger ' stands, but there is no reference to Ring-maker.

The Council of Elrond(2) as (1) but with the inclusion of a comment preceding "He wore" which states , 'and it was at one time rumoured that he had come near to the secret of their making.'

This too, disappears from the published version.

And, even if we assume, for arguments sake, that he had made a Ring, and the evidence is far too slight to prove that he had, it clearly had been a wasted effort as it is never referred to again in the whole of Lord of the Rings and apparently was put to no use whatsoever.

I think on balance that Saruman did not make a Ring, which is why Tolkien made the textual amendments between the earlier drafts and the final form.