Anyone who has turned wood boxes with fitted lids understands the problem. The top fits after turning, then a few months later it may not fit as nicely. Maybe too tight or loose.
My thought is to use metal or plastic rings as the contact surfaces between the base and top of boxes. They should stabilize the wood to prevent movement with humidity changes , etc. They wouldn't be a design element in the boxes and would be as unobtrusive to the design as possible. Some plastics are close to ebony in appearance so that might be better than metal.
This is not an original idea, I've seen boxes done this way. But, I've never heard the pros and cons from anyone who does this.
Any thoughts?