The intercalation of the colorless open (10) and the blue-colored closed forms (1C) of monocationic diarylethene into cation exchange clays and the photochromic reversibility of these hybrid materials was investigated. Both the 10/clay and 1C/clay hybrid powders exhibited reversible color changes upon alternative irradiation of UV and visible light, however, the photochromic durability was found to be strongly influenced by the form upon intercalation, i.e., open or closed, as well as by the coverage degrees. The blue-colored, closed 1C/clay was found to exhibit higher photochromic durability than the 10/clay.