Best stand I think I've run across has been the "Swivel Stand", from the "As seen on TV" files.
Yes, it's plastic, but it's solid, holds up to a gallon of water, and can easily be adjusted from a standing position using the foot pedal release. Stable as a rock, too.
Since part of the stand is a piece you slip onto the base of the trunk and tighten down, it does constrain the size of the tree a little. We've put up to a 7 foot tree into ours, and it holds just fine.
Rob