紫砂壶，是艺术家手中的泥土与时间的对话，犹如陶瓷之于诗歌，它们各自有着独特的情感表达，让人在选择时陷入难题。从一堆泥中“揉捏”出壶，这是一种古老的传统技艺，只有少数人还会使用这种方式制作。现在市面上不少壶是用模具做出来的，创造性就差了很多。

朱江龙先生，在他的个人陶艺工作室为我们展示了这个过程，他笑称，一把紫砂壶是“塑”出来的。这是一种精细到让人叫绝的手工艺。他首先取出一块砖头模样的泥块，这些泥都是他15年前购买的几十吨紫砂泥，现在由于开采无序，品质已不如从前，所以这些存放在当地，每次要做壶时就去取一些。

整个制作过程中都是采用“揉捏法”，朱江龙笑称，其实一把紫砂壶是“塑”出来的。这个过程包括拍打、切割、量度等多个步骤，用各种工具悉数上场，或切或量。在拍打的时候，朱江龙还特地借着各个细节和过程，给我们讲解了一些紫砂壶鉴赏的要领。他表示，好的紫砂壶有很多个性要求，这些都贯彻在每个制作细节里。

现在，不少市民在收藏紫砂壶时喜欢根据一些图书来按图索骥，其实最关键的是根据自己的能力，即收入高低等来购买。主要要看两方面，一是泥料和工艺，这一定要正，即工艺要符合紫砂的工艺；二是造型上至少要比例协调，再看造型是简洁的还是繁复的等。

朱江龙表示，南京玩紫砂壶的人并不多，不过近几年有发展之势。purple sand teapot is a kind of relatively oriental traditional life style, nowadays the fast-paced urban life makes people yearn for it.

The appraisal of purple sand teapot should look at "the atmosphere". The market price of ordinary purple sand teapots made by craftsmen is generally between 500 yuan and several thousand yuan, while high-level craftsmen's works are around 5,000 yuan. However, ancient purple sand teapots can reach tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.

Although the market trend is good, many collectors face the problem of how to choose a valuable purple sand teapot. Zhang Mr., a collector, said that when collecting purple sand teapots, one should pay attention to "clay", "shape", "craft", and "carving" from multiple angles. Only with pure and genuine clay can a real value be realized.

In terms of shape, there are countless types in the world's various utensils. Traditional shapes have more collection value than unique ones. In terms of craftsmanship, good purple sand teapots require smooth transitions in points, lines and surfaces.

However, ordinary investors need to be cautious when investing in collectible purple sand tea sets as many fake products exist on the market. Some people mistakenly believe that any colored soil or artificially created "purple soil" is suitable for making tea sets as long as they match the color requirement. In fact only Yixing mud is authentic; some also think that older tea sets are better for collecting purposes but this may not always hold true since many old tea sets appear aged due to artificial aging processes.

Therefore it's important to understand some basic knowledge about purple sand tea set before investing and seek advice from experts while being prudent about investments according to one's own capabilities.