Ceramic bearings: What's the point?

I would say it's mostly due to the fact that they're oil lubricated, and oiling them flushes the dirt outwards rather than inwards. Unlubricated AW hubs don't last donkeys years!

So the conclusion is that we should all be running old Campagnolo Record hubs with oil ports, and dribbling oil into them before every ride.

I was going to add that too, although it's probably a combination of both. Even ones that aren't maintained and left mostly outside seem to last a long time, I've taken apart a few of them.

Hehe, I do miss oil/grease ports generally on bikes though.