the three ear one you see at West Marine and the "OEM" that they won't sell you (but sell to Catalina, Hunter, et. al.). The three ear one meets ABYC and CG requirements, and it comes apart by unscrewing the body from the base, ball and stem come out, etc. But it isn't necessary to take them apart routinely (or even ever) if they are greased each year with some SuperLube and a long handled Qtip. Shut them off every once and a while. Yes the stems are the weak link (often the case with bronze ones as well) though they changed the design about 10 years ago to make it stronger. You shouldn't break one unless ham-fisted or you force a never maintained or operated one, however if you do you can screw a new body onto the old base without having to remove the base and associated mushroom fitting.

The big problem with bronze is you don't know whats in them. "Bronze" is used to describe a wide variety of materials including some very inferior metals. Even on some of the name brand ones, they clearly contain a lot of zinc by the way they corrode and crumble. Real silicon bronze ones cannot be identified without sending one to the lab. Also send the ball, stem, and handle, because those will likely be different metals, any of which might be junk. Or ask for a traceable material certification with the fitting (I bet you won't get one....).