I'm in two minds about putting my entire email correspondence with Philipp Stahl on here (he's asked me not to and to be honest there's nothing to be learned from it) but I am happy to quote what he says on his blog.
It actually appears twice:
"Although it will always remain a mystery if Rolex was literally on the summit, the Oyster Perpetual models were an essential part of the equipment back then."
Sources:
http://rolexpassionreport.com/5722/t...nzing-edition/
http://rolexpassionreport.com/4590/r...and-obsession/
I can say I agree with that 100%
Of course, what isn't a "mystery" is that Smiths "was literally on the summit"
And I think that's me done.
Cheers
Ollie