The best wood protection, at least in my case has been with Spar or Marine type polyurethane/varnish. It is used alot at the local marina by lots of boating fanatics since it affords the best moisture resistance out there. All of those tung oil/water sealer based products are oil based and require frequent re-application, and do not offer much of a finish. If you are looking for a variety of finishes (matte, satin, or glossy) then your best bet would be to use a water-based polyester polyurethane finish. It is the hardest of the polyurethanes, and is available in matte, semi-gloss, and glossy finishes. If you want to preserve the natural wood appearance without altering the finish, then the tung oil would be the way to go, provided you don't mind the frequency of re-application.
BTW: I do prefer the tung oil method myself for small items such as this since the oil does offer the best protection WITHOUT altering the natural wood finish. It is penetrating, while the others are surface coatings, and as such, usually alter the lustre/finish of the wood.
Ed.