Thermostat problem?

New thermostat goes to 212 then drops back to the 190 range, rather than just opening at 192 and staying there as I would expect.do I have a bad thermostat or could this be normal?

This could be normal. The sensor for the gage is located in a different spot than the T-stat. It’s just getting the warmer coolant a bit earlier than the T-stat is.