correction!

a person close to my heart and bed just told me about the result of some research he did into german traditions. apparently, german women don't like to be given diamonds to their engagement, but prefer instead a plain band which changes hands from left to right when they get married.
well, that's just plain bullshit.
german women like rocks just like the next girl. the bigger the better, though style does matter. my mother got an engagement ring that she is still wearing.
what we do not want (and i am talking my own mind here, using the royal *we*) is much fuss with vows of eternal love etc. after all, that goes without saying, doesn't it! we also don't seem to have the competitive mind of, for example, english girls, who make a sport of comparing diamond sizes and clearly see a correlation between love and budget.
also, engagements have gone out of fashion over the past decades (again, no statistical proof, just my impression), with a mere hint of a comeback in the past few years. we propose (though mainly it's a mutual decision), we set the date, we do it. basta.
it's not unromantic, just pragmatic. nothing wrong with that.
personally though, i'd insist on a ring. he'd get one from me, too.