Omega Warranty Card Date: Manufacture or Sale?

By the dealer, example my Seamaster Trilogy is stamped May '21.

My Seamaster is still running great after (4 on the shelf+4) 8 years so it doesn't really matter and if it breaks down within half a year its a free service.

Yep. This is an argument in favor of people who say just service a watch when it starts running poorly, as opposed to a regular interval, like every five years.

If the watch is modern enough that the brand has replacement parts for the movement and they plan on replacing the parts at a service (at least Omega does), then why worry if they wear?

It still seems an odd way to treat your watch, but it's also wierd that a watch that's been sitting on a shelf for 5 years can be sold as new and not need a service.

I'm conflicted and haven't decided one way or the other, at least for modern watches.

Regarding vintage watches, I'm convinced they need to be regularly serviced (if I plan to wear them) if only because of the lack of replacement parts.

There's evidence that lubrication dries out and isn't effective after five years. No effective lubrication, your watch will wear, regardless of how much it was previously used. This makes sense.

There're a lot of watches that don't get service regularly and seem to run fine for decades. Am I being overly cautious when I service my watches regularly?

I confess to leaning towards running modern watches longer before service. If I'm honest with myself, it's partly due to not wanting to spend the money. But it's also because I question the need. For example, my moonwatch with 1861 caliber is now about 6 years old, which means it's ready for a service. But I haven't worn it regularly (swapped with other dailys) and it keeps good time. It just seems excessive to service it.

I do regular oil changes and preventive service on my cars, such as replacing brake fluid, etc. So I'm not a maniac. And 600 to 750 bucks for servicing a watch once every 5 years is cheap compared to a car. So what's the difference? In a car, they don't replace rings and head gaskets etc for a service. But in a watch they'll change main springs and gears without a second thought.

I'm still pretty fluid on this idea of servicing intervals. There are likely some more knowledgeable and experienced members who think this consideration of delay to be foolish. I would not argue with them. But I am on the fence.