I just recieved my Movado 800 series watch today and the large chronograph timer hand won't reset to zero (top of dial @ 12 o'clock) when I press the zero button. It resets to 56 minute position. Should I return it or is this normal?

Your watch is battery powered or a 'quartz' watch. It is commonly refered to as a 'chronograph'. That is another word for stop watch.As well as telling time and the date, your watch can time how long an event lasts. For example, a horse race. You start the chronograph or stop watch when the horse starts and stop it when it crosses the finish line. When the next horse starts you need set it back to zero to time the next race.Operation is simple. The upper push button starts and stops the chronograph. Try it. Now with the chronograph stopped, push the bottom button. The hand return to the 12 o'clock position or the 'zero' position. Also notice the small dials on the dial or face of the watch. They record minutes and other increments of time. The large hand going around when you push the upper button is recording seconds. Hope this helps, Michael

your watch is a chronograph or stop watch. the large second hand that is pointed at 12, it is the second hand of the stop watch, it moves when you press te upper right button and it stop on that button too. when it stops the lower button is the reset. i hope i had been helped you.

Try pulling the crown out and using the reset button to move hands beside the sweep arm. If this doesn't work then you may need to take it to a repair shop that can reset or AC the watch. With a movement as fine as Movado I wouldn't attempt this yourself. If you make a mistake the repair could cost more than the watch. Be sure that you have the watch resealed so it maintains its water resistance.

I wouldnt try to return it. I would go back and inform the store of the problem you have and they have no choice but to either fix it, show you how to solve the problem, exchange it, or at the least, return it but please give them a chance to fix the issue.
Best wishes,

hi,
all you need to do is pull the centre bezel out (to where you adjust the time) and by pressing the top button the chronograph needle will move round. Once it is the correct place simply push the centre bezel back in.

Hope this helps.

Duncan

The "second" hand on this watch is not actually a 'sweep' second hand, as on other watches.
This is a timer dial. ["Stopwatch 1/5 Second Hand"]
To start/stop this, use the top button (Button "A").
To reset this dial to 12 O'clock, use Button "B", after first stopping it with Button "A".
The "second" hand is the small dial at the 9 O'clock position.
In actuality, you 'could' start this and just not stop it...  Then it would function as a "large second hand". That would be up to the owner. (it might use more battery power though... ?)

Hey, it sounds like your watch is just fine! A nice watch to inherit.
The small second hand on the sub-dial is your normal second hand.
The large second hand is the second timer for your chronograph feature.
It should only move when you hit the side buttons. One of them (usually the top plunger/ button) will start the Chrono timer and then hitting it again will stop it. The bottom button should reset the hand to the 12 o'clock/ zero marker.
If the large hand is not functioning at all then there may be something wrong with the watch; perhaps the buttons are not making full contact within the watch or the hand may be stuck and need repair.
Hope this answers your questions. Post more questions if need be.
Congrats on your new watch.

The chronograph can be reset by pulling out the crown to the first or second position and pressing the start button or top button. This will begin to move the sweep arm and you can stop it on the 12:00 or 0 position. Make sure that when you have the battery changed they do this for you.

Solution #3 (Posted by Guest on 5 Mar 08) is spot on. Quick and easy method to reset the chrono hands (it was not in my Seiko manual).
Interestingly, this can also be used to set the chrono ahead (or behind--with a little math) for offset timing measurements.

This problem may be due to your analog hands being improperly zeroed. To find out, try this: 1. Put the watch in chronograph mode by rotating the crowon in its normal position to "chr" 2. Pull out the crown two clicks. This should cause all of the hands to point to zero. If you do this and your minute hand points to 1 o'clock, or five minutes, you will know that this is the problem. If this is the problem, you can can correct it by zeroing the hands as follows: 1. Put the watch in chronograph mode by rotating the crowon in its normal position to "chr" 2. Pull out the crown two clicks. This should cause all of the hands to point to zero, or close to it. You should also notice the letters "HR" in the lefthand digital display. This allows you to move the hour hand by rotating the crown. If the hour hand is not pointing at 12 o'clock, rotate it so that it does. 3. Push the top button once. The letters "MIN" should appear in the lefthand digital display. This allows you to move the minute hand on the large dial, and the minute and hour hands on the small UTC dial. Rotate the crown so that the minute hand points directly to 12 o'clock. 4. Push the top button again. The letters "SEC" should appear in the lefthand digital display. Rotate the crown to point the second hand directly at 12 o'clock. 5. Push the crown back into its normal position. Set the digiatl time and date in your tie zone, and your analog hands should match the digital read-out. If the zeroing of the hands is not the problem, I don't know what is wrong with the watch.