Passive smart cards, metal cards, payment objects and smart jewelry

A method of selectively enhancing or suppressing communication with a transponder chip module (TCM) comprising an RFID chip (IC) and a module antenna (MA), the method comprising:

• providing a coupling frame (CF) having an electrical discontinuity comprising a slit (S) or non-conductive strips (NCS);
• and
• moving at least one of the transponder chip module (TCM) and the coupling frame (CF) so that (i) the slit overlaps the module antenna (MA) to enhance communication;
• and (ii) the slit does not overlap the module antenna to suppress communication.

A card body construction for a smart card (SC) comprising:

• a first metal layer having an opening for receiving the a first portion of a transponder chip module and a slit extending from the opening to an outer edge of the layer, so that the layer may function as a coupling frame;
• a second metal layer has having an opening for receiving a second portion of the transponder chip module and a slit extending from the opening to an outer edge of the layer, so that the slit overlaps a module antenna of the transponder chip module;
• and
• a third metal layer having a slit overlapping the module antenna of the transponder chip module.