Thanks Graham. I must hand the credit to the Japanese and the Inro boxes
I just mixed it up a bit and showered it with glitter.
To make the box oval simple glue to pieces together that have been planed with a 6-8 mm piece of waste wood in the middle. Mark the centers accurately, and turn as with a normal hollow lid box. Then split the parts and glue the two side together and that's it. I did write an article in woodturning magazine about how to make one in issue 219.